Narberal's Letter
by Finalfinish02
Summary: Ainz notices Narberal's hatred for humans. To get her to have a better opinion of them, he sends her off on several missions alone. As she goes on her adventure, she begins to understand humanity and herself.
1. Chapter 1

So this story is set after season 1 and during The Sealed Evil Tree Arc.

* * *

"And once the little girl d…..defeated the monster…... She found herself trapped on the island, with…. nothing to use to escape…. to meet her father again."

Narberal signed, reading a children's book was harder than she thought. Since nobles often ask for help in the form of a letter, Ainz told her to learn the language here in this new world. But as she found out, It was much more complicated than expected.

Each and every night after adventuring, Narberal always goes to her desk to study the New World's language. Yet, she had only made little process. Only after a few weeks of study, she can barely read children's books.

Now, it might be meaningless to study the language since that barrier can be solved using the likes of magic. Lord Ainz still tasked her with this. It might have been to test her. But for any reason, her fingers now rested on the edges of the book. The page was turned. She could not concentrate on the book.

This was because Narberal had recently made a terrible mistake in a mission. Besides reading the book in her hand, that was the only thing she was thinking about.

Ever since joining Lord Ainz's crusade on being an adventurer, she had made many mistakes, but the latest one could not be forgiven.

Not by her, at least. Lord Ainz gave her no punishment or anything in a matter of fact.

It cursed her, the waiting; Living without knowing what would happen. She was still waiting for his response. It wasn't long before she closed the book.

Oddly enough, a bandit wrote that book. Timothy Titor, he was the writer of the book and one of the bandits that opposite her and Momon in that mission. Typically, one will laugh at his appearance like herself, but unfortunately, he possessed a unique blade powerful enough to damage her.

If she were to look at her right-hand now, there would be a small scar on her hand. Of course, she was yelled at by Lord Ainz for being too careless, but never before had they come across a human wielding a magical sword that powerful.

If she had to scale its strength, That item would be at least be classed Legacy.

Of course, with that amount of strength the sword held, it confused Lord Ainz and her how a human was able to find such a weapon. Thus, to find that out, Lord Ainz took the corpse to see where the man got the sword. On the other hand, Narberal was given only one thing to study.

That was the book the bandit had written. It was the one she was currently reading. There was nothing useful inside. It was merely a children's book.

Lord Ainz would be madden to find this out. The only thing she achieved the past few days was reading a book. However, she must still report.

Quickly she placed the book away and went to the window.

No one was there. She was looking for her lord.

It would be easy to spot him. At night, barely anyone goes out. Not only that, he was an entire foot taller than most humans with his armor on. But Narberal continued to search the area for his appearance. She did not see Lord Ainz.

There were a few knockings on the door, but she ignored it.

It was probably the maid. That was what Narberal thought. The person would go away if no one answers. However, that only applies to five-star inns. It appeared she had forgotten this was a one-star lodge in the middle of Re-Estize.

Now, one might question why they were staying here. Adventurers of the highest-ranked were paid well. For Momon and herself to be on a tier higher than those adventurers, their pay should be much higher than the everyday norm. There should be no problem in paying for the use of a high-quality room.

Well, that was unless they were spending all their earned money on something else. And they were. It was to invest in the Tomb of Nazarick. Many things were needed to prepare in this new world.

Thus, they were nearly penniless. That was a big issue for them. Although they do not need to pay for living expenses due to her equipment and Lord Ainz's racial abilities, they still needed to act as if they were humans. Hence, at the end of each day, Momon always rents out a room to rest in. Often they would buy higher quality rooms than the usual norm. It is risky for them to stay a night in a terrible inn. If word got out, they stayed in a run-down place, their public appearance would be harmed, and their mentality would be questioned.

The only reason why Lord Ainz has chosen to stay here was that it provides very confidential services.

That was likely the reason, but they had a weak foundation. That included the lack of security around here. But that problem could be easily solved as Lord Ainz, and Narberal always made sure to secure the room before resting aside here. But of course, they still had to be a guard just in case there was a threat.

Even now, Narberal was on watch.

The person knocking on the door did not go away. Yes, she did not mind it too much at first. But since the person has not left yet, it may have been another traveler. Since the inn was quite small, they might have mistaken this room for theirs. But that was not the case.

The door opened. The sight of raven plate armor was apparent. The person was Lord Ainz. Narberal napped out of her desk and turned to face the entrance, ready to report her daily news.

But no response.

It appeared he was not in a good mood. This rarely happens.

Lord Ainz is a perfect being, at least to the Tomb of Nazarick. Everyone sees his greatness, including those outside the guild. His leadership skills and pure intelligence all surpass everyone.

But there was one thing that no one sees.

Narberal, having always accompanied him while using his adventurer persona, still sees the greatness of her guild master, but with the peak of sometimes witnessing the other-side.

Apparently, Albedo told Narberal to look out for this when they talk. As a friend and supporter of her, she didn't disagree. Her superior was only looking out of any dangerous hints. After he battled Shalltear, It wasn't surprising she was also on guard.

Narberal shook her head. This was not the time to be thinking of that. Lord Ainz placed a bag of coins near the table.

"I've counted the pay we earn for the last job we did."

"Did we earn enough?" Narberal responded, forgetting to report.

"Yes," Lord Ainz said, He was looking for a chair to sit on, "But we aren't making enough money."

Her hands tighten. "Is this because of what I did a few days ago?"

Lord Ainz paused. The day they faced a bandit leader named Timothy. It has been the only major failure since Shalltear's mind control. Apparently, they were hired to rescue a few nobles from some bandits, but Narberal went overboard and killed every human there.

Of course, he revived the nobles and erased the memory of their deaths. However, her actions still caused Lord Ainz to spend less time adventuring and more so to teach Narberal not to use higher tier magic whenever she gets mad.

"No, don't worry about that, this is different," He replied, "We simply need to catch up to our schedule."

A map was then pulled out of his hands.

"To increase our reputation throughout this kingdom," he softly said, "We may need to work separately."

Her eyes grew when he said that. Those words had shaken her, but Narberal nodded her head in agreement. In response. Lord Ainz continued with his plan.

"Nabe," he said, "You will be guarding a rich landowner named Mr. Smith. Recently, he brought a new house and hired many adventurers from different guilds to guard him."

"If he hired so many people, then why does he need more?"

"Most of the adventurers he hired have either gone missing or killed in action. They say a powerful beast with the appearance of an ogre attacked them, but current details of its location is unknown."

"I see, is this the reason for him to ask us for help?"

"Most likely, if you stop the bandits and the monster attacking Mr. Smith, then we'll be recognized not just by a rich landowner, but by adventurers from guilds all over the kingdom."

He then stood, "Just make sure you don't use too much of our budget, use anything above 5th tier magic useless the situation calls for it, or kill anyone you will be working with."

She nodded.

"Your opinion about them is still gray, right?"

"They're trash," Narberal said it as if she was programmed to say those words. "I apologize in advance, but can I ask why we still act as heroes to them?"

He smiled, "I'm impressed. I was waiting for you to ask that question."

"Thank you, Momon. I highly honor the compliments you give me, but I still wonder why they are so crucial to our success. "

"Well, Nabe, you'll just have to experience it for yourself."

"Is that so?" she questioned.

"Yes,"

He then placed down some markers on the map. When he was done, he lectured Narberal about her manners with humans. She always forgets them when being with those creatures for an extended period. But this time she won't…. probably.

* * *

Note: If you read this story when it first came out, then thanks for reading lol. I am not a good writer. But since the last time I have updated this story, I think I've bettered myself in the past year. I've had an idea for this fanfiction for quite a while now, and I hope to actually try to finish it or at least improve where I left off. So to start off that goal, I did some major editing to the story and added a lot of "new events." I'll strongly recommend for old readers to reread the chapters, but you don't have to as you would still be able to understand what is going on.

Also, there is a high chance there is a lot of grammar mistakes I've made and missed throughout the story. If you see any, feel free to comment if you see any.


	2. Chapter 2

**A short message**

The morning was bright. Lord Ainz paced through the dirt path with Hamsuke. While Narberal was tasked to protect a noble named Mr. Smith, he was assigned to gather several rare herbs in a dangerous place. 30 years ago, an Adamanite group led by a man named Vesture went there, and almost everyone gotten slaughtered. Not that this scared him. In fact, this increased his hopes.

People are now starting to see how powerful he is. Even the simple travelers on the road began to stop to admire his armor and strength.

Fame was a useful thing. Now, stories of his achievements raged through the country. A man who killed a mighty vampire. The warrior who took on an army of the undead. And a newly born hero who subdued the Wise King of the Forest.

Anyone would love to have the honor of these titles. Although Lord Ainz did not understand the greatness of beating a hamster. In his point of view, the king looks nothing more than a pet. His personality also says that. Hamsuke is not like a king at all.

And Narberal. People say her beauty rivals the golden princess, and her face resembles the likes of the most calming lakes in the lands. That might be true in the Tomb of Nazarick. However, those words are very inaccurate to describe Nabe.

"Please don't screw things up."

The only reason he was leaving Narberal outside alone was because of Pandora's Actor and Yuri Alpha. They said it would be excellent training for her to learn how to control herself with humans. While they were not wrong, leaving Narberal by herself is similar to having an untrained teenager to manage your business. In this case, these words were accurate. If Narberal screws up, his reputation will plummet.

" _Dammit,"_ Ainz was still irritated at Narberal for her careless actions. " _Couldn't she see that we are not here to kill every human on sight?"_

If it wasn't for his resistance to emotions, he might have gotten angry talking to her. It questioned him why she was not used to humans yet. They've been adventurers for quite some time. Of course, they can still be called rookies. Even he does not know much about the world, but that is not an acceptable excuse.

If a level 100 player randomly shows up to fight him, they wouldn't care if he was a newbie or not. Just like it was in Yggdrasil. Narberal and even some of the other floor guardians such as Cocytus could be instantly killed if that situation occurred. Of course, it wasn't that all the NPC were naive. All of them simply followed the personality they were given when he was transported into this world.

There was no way he would use magic to change that.

All of them are like his children. That is an over-exaggeration. But the NPCs were still creations from his best friends. There was no way he would ever dishonor his comrades like this.

Instead, he hopes to train the NPCs to combat strange situations they may come across in the future. Narberal would be one of the first. Hopefully, not the last.

"Did you forget to bring anything?" Hamsuke asked, slowing down. Lord Ainz recollected himself.

"No, wait here," Lord Ainz was trying to message Demiurge, and it was taking longer than usual. Almost everyone from the Tomb of Nazarick would drop everything if he called, but there were reasons for that. It could be simply because they were busy; however, it was often because of their original settings.

When he first arrived, he checked every NPC background setting, which explained some of the unusual behaviors each one had.

"Demiurge," Ainz said, the message went through, "can you hear me?"

He responded in a few moments. "Ah, Lord Ainz," he finally replied, "What is it you need, my lord?"

"Order one of your shadow demons to come over and watch Nabe from a faraway distance."

"Why bring the shadow demons? Are you in need of backup?"

"No," He replied, "I ordered Nabe to do some errands for me."

"Oh, I see why you need one of us to watch over her, but why leave her alone? You do know how she feels towards humans."

"Exactly, for Nabe have a better opinion of them. She needs to experience being with them more often."

"That's quite of a plan you have Lord Ainz. Because you and Nabe are adventurers, you need her to be able to handle herself in a worst-case scenario."

"Yes, so can you get the task done, Demiurge?"

"Yes, my lord, I'll get it done as fast as possible."

"Good, message out."

That was the last of it. The conversation only lasted a few dozen seconds. He should have tried messaging Demiurge sooner. Narberal would be alone for a time before backup appears. But even if it is only one shadow demon, having more than one person handing a job is better than nothing.

"Are you done messaging that demon guy?" His pet questioned.

"Yes, now let's continue."

"All right, sir."

It didn't take long before Ainz jumped back on the giant Hamster and continued off on the path. But there was something still on his mind. Everything was going towards his plan… currently, but there is still a possibility that something terrible may happen.

If the shadow demon wasn't enough, he planned on having Entoma, CZ2128 Delta, and Yuri assist her. It would be a gamble to get them involved, but the Pleiades worked best while as a team rather than alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Narberal kept thinking of what Ainz told her last night, and it still bothered her to this moment. Nothing could change that. The wagon she was on didn't help either.

Usually, Narberal would teleport to a nearby place she knew of and use a horse to get to her location. However, she has not been to any places near her employer yet. To teleport somewhere, one must have visited an area before. That is also the reason why Lord Ainz was traveling.

Despite being adventurers for a few weeks now, they have not been to every location around the world. That was why Lord Ainz kept Hamsuke around. While she was not the fastest animal around. If Lord Ainz travels with her throughout the entire kingdom, news of their appearance will travel around as Hamsuke is quite a well-known beast. Thus, that was taking care of two things at once. It was a perfect plan that Lord Ainz had come up with.

Now, in her case, it was slightly different. This was because, for this mission, Lord Ainz added some restrictions. He said the obvious ones, such as to not kill anyone on sight. But there were some new rules. That was to not use creatures from Nazarick for transportation unless he orders to. That meant Narberal couldn't summon a horse to travel.

Of course, Narberal accepted these conditions, but still questioned the purpose of being restricted.

Without any horse, Narberal had to hire a poor-quality carriage to travel. Lord Ainz started providing a "salary" for the floor guardians and those working under them. However, since he was currently one of the only primary sources of money, Narberal did not have enough to buy anything else. If she rented magic items such as a floating board, she would already be wasting most of her provided budget.

And that was the reason why she was in this situation.

Narberal was the only one inside the wagon. Despite it being cheap, the inner appearance was decent. Enough that nobles or commoners would not care or complaint if they were to ride on it.

But if it was to be used to protect someone, this would not be ideal.

The wagon was mostly made out of wood, and the front could be easily accessed by crossing travelers. This was due to the horses not being the best. While they were strong, there were only two of them. For them to be carrying a heavy wagon, that would obviously make them tired.

Thus, they went slow. She has been on the road for hours now. And no one saw any sign of a big mansion with a large garden in front of it. That was how the owner described it. The location of his building was at the borderline between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy.

That must have been the reason for all the robberies Mr. Smith had to deal with. Those two countries never had a good relationship, to begin with. It wasn't long before Narberal looked at the maps to locate where they were. The crew told her they'll be there soon. But she looked anyway. She didn't trust them. Although Narberal couldn't read most of the maps since they were written in the new world language, they were right.

In a few minutes, she spotted the garden. Many would dream of having a lawn similar to this. So would Narberal if she was a human. For a few moments, the wagon stopped to look around. The crew was not sure if this was the right place. Although the lawn and the building seemed quite unique to the human eye, they would not want to make a mistake, such as leaving their client behind. That was why Narberal stepped out of the wagon to make sure this was the correct area.

The crew went to the front while Narberal went towards the garden. It was truly stunning for human standards. There were many flowers and bugs Narberal was not familiar with seeing. The owner of the mansion must have been a lover for the outside world. Everything was neat. But that thought came to an end. She saw a tiny man in a suit arising out the back door.

When you compare the beauty of the garden. The person coming towards her had the exact opposite features. He had an ugly face. It could be compared to an ogre who had his face smashed in between a rock and a hammer.

That must have been Mr. Smith. This was the right place.

The man walked to Narberal first and reached out his hand. "Hello, Miss Nabe," he said, "I am glad you made it here. I hired you for the week to guard me while I moved into this new house I bought. As you can see, I am a very rich man, and I have many valuables in need of protection."

"I see," Narberal replied, shaking his hand. It was apparent the man was trying to express his power. It annoyed her, she would have immediately killed him if it wasn't for the fact she had to act. Instead, she had to play it out as Lord Ainz ordered her.

The tiny man whose name is Mr. Smith then walked passed her. The travelers were back from the front, and he greeted them. It was probably to spread his name and not to be friendly. Nobles tended to do this.

Narberal figured Mr. Smith was that type of person.

She might as well go inside and wait until he is done expressing his dominates. Just before leaving, Narberal signaled the travelers this was the right place and started walking to the front door.

"Wait, Miss Nabe!" Mr. Smith said, catching up to her, "You will get lost if you go in by yourself. Allow me to show you around. I'll show you where you'll be staying."

Narberal nodded and followed him. In the job description, since the nearest village was far from here, Mr. Smith stated he'll be providing a place for the adventurers to stay in.

That was uncommon for employers to do that. But as Narberal looked at the building, this place could probably fit 100 people with ease. Therefore, he was likely right that Narberal may have gotten lost inside.

Yet, that was not really a problem. Behind the front doors, a grand hallway was present from Narberal's view of point. There were three stories in total that looked down upon her, and several servants were present on all of them. If Narberal simply went inside, she could have asked them information regarding the mission she was tasked for.

There were also several adventurers here as well. The grand hallway was large. The walls and floors were covered in delight designs and paintings. It was a perfect place for one to hang out. Well, that was if they were a noble or a well-known adventurer.

Commoners or low ranked adventurers would not merely fit in with the atmosphere of this place. Yet, there were Gold and Platinum ranked adventurers hanging out around the hall.

She did see one Mithril adventurer group, but that was the highest she has seen. That group gave her stares, especially the magic caster of the group. Since she became a top-ranked adventurer so quickly, it wasn't uncommon to see foul eyes.

"Miss Nabe, do you have any questions?"

"Yes, just how many adventurers did you hire?"

"Well, I will disclose that information later as not all the adventurers I hired is here yet. But I can surely tell that you will be the only Adamantite adventurer in the building. The next most powerful group I hired is only ranked Mithril."

 _"Ah,"_

No wonder they were giving her stares.

Adamantite adventurers are rare. Thus, most people were jealous to see them rise in ranks so quickly. She recalled multiple times groups of humans tried to kill Lord Ainz and her because of it. Of course, they were no match for them, and her lord quickly resolved the issue, but she still wondered if she'll come across anything like that here.

If it does, it may end up badly. Her ability to communicate with humans was still terrible. Yet, she'd been with humans for a while now. She can probably handle it if the situation occurred.

Besides, everything was going well with Mr. Smith. Although the small tour, he showed Narberal the kitchen, the servant quarters, bathrooms, study rooms, workshop, game room, and his office. Yes, his mansion was that big. Narberal could see why Mr. Smith would need some help moving in. It would take several days simply to get everything in.

Especially since the whole tour took about 35 minutes. One of the last places they were heading towards was to the room she would be staying in.

Mr. Smith opened the door.

It was small; only one bed, a simple desk, and a bookshelf sat in the room. She signed. It was ugly, but at least it was free of charge.

Narberal went into the room to inspect it for any traps. There were none. That was one less thing to worry about. They were about to head towards the other places until she saw a young child with whitish skin in a uniform heading towards them.

She looked short and had the ordinary hair color that could be found in humans. In this case, that would be the color of yellow. But her hair was more fixed than the average norm. In all likelihood, she was a servant. However, the child's round blue eyes had a hint of immaturity in them. She was probably not well trained.

"Hello Mr. Smith," The girl said, "I heard about your request, is this the person I will be caring for?"

"Yes," he replied and turned to Narberal, "I forgot to tell you about the servant. She will be taking care of your needs while you are here."

Keys were now in his hands, and he handed it towards her.

"Of course, this is free of charge."

 _"This is not free of charge,"_ Narberal muttered.

Having a human maid following her around would be troublesome. In the Kingdom of Etrza, most servants were slaves, trained under the master they follow. Of course, some servants do have political power. Those were maids or butlers that came from a noble family, but if this child followed under a salve's jurisdiction, she would be following her all day and night.

And the thought of it made her annoyed.

"Mr. Smith, It is getting late. I think stopping here today would be enough."

"Right, forgive my matters, you've been traveling all day, haven't you?"

She nodded. It was a partial lie, she was actually getting too annoyed, enough that her act of being a noble adventurer was getting noticable. There are items to suppress these emotions, but Lord Ainz told her they were too much of a "cheat code" for this mission.

"I will be touring the rest building later."

"All right," he replied, "There will be a morning meeting with all the adventurers I hired to discuss what we will be doing and what roles everyone will be getting. Make sure to be there."

The door was then closed. Once he left, Narberal cast in multiple spells to ensure her safety within the house. Lord Ainz taught her this.

Never do something without precaution. That is what he'll always say. Narberal opened up her small bag of scrolls and recounted them to make sure nothing was missing.

If she gets into trouble or killed, no one would be providing backup for at least a day. At least this was the case for Shalltear. After this event occurred, Lord Ainz placed in precautions for every member going outside.

It could be buffs, potions, or companions like shadow demons, but what Narberal received were her essential gear, a bag of scrolls, and a legendary spear that would increase her magic damage.

Her spear was given by her creator, yet Lord Ainz said not to use it unless the situation called for it. If that did happen, world items would be best to have. If a person has one, they are immune to others who have powers similar to theirs, but since the Tomb of Nazarick only has so many, only the floor guardians are allowed to have them.

But even if Narberal were as strong as a level 100 player, her recklessness with humans would make others distrust her with those weapons.

That's probably why she didn't receive Divine class items.

But those items were overkill for this mission.

There are only two main objects Narberal has to do. Kill the monster that has been terrorizing this mansion and kill any bandit who tries to steal from the landowner. In other words, she simply had to guard the mansion.

After checking her room was secure, Narberal teleported outside. Next, she had to secure the area for anything suspicious. She could have asked Mr. Smith for help, but often nobles tended to hide things.

But that would have to wait.

A man wielding a staff was outside with her. He was likely on guard duty. Now that Narberal got a closer look at him, he was the mage caster from earlier that was giving her a hostile stare. And yes, a Mithril plate hung around his neck. He looked somewhat in his early thirties. But his appearance was still fair, with the exception of the eye patch he was wearing.

Narberal forgot to placed in invisibility magic on herself, but since she wasn't doing anything bad, most likely, he would just shrug it off since he was a mage caster as well.

But he did not.

"Not the type to use the door?"

That sentence struck a nerve in Narberal.

"No, I wanted to check the perimeter before night falls."

"I see, then excuse my behavior from before. My name is Alaric, a Mithril magic caster from the group Blade and Magic."

Narberal glanced at him. He was acting differently from the first time she saw him.

"I am Nabe, an Adamantite adventurer from E-Rantel. It is good to meet you."

"I heard of you. Aren't you part of the newest Adamantite team that recently formed?"

"Yes,"

"Then, just my luck, I am inquisitive about meeting new adventurer teams like yours, and I wish we could one day surpass the level of your power."

Narberal wanted to grab her blade. Does this human believe that he could be stronger than Lord Ainz?

"But, I suppose that just a dream."

Narberal cooled down. She was getting too ahead of herself. Of course, no human could possibly surpass Lord Ainz or even her strength. She was just getting a little worked up for being with humans.

"It took years of training for me and Momon to reach this level. No mere person could possibly reach our level."

Lord Ainz told Narberal to use this type of story when one was to ask how they become so strong. But Narberal just over-exaggerated it a bit too much.

"I cannot imagine the training you two had to go through, I can ask where you trained?"

"It was in a foreign nation. Sadly, it does not exist anymore."

"Ah, do you remember the place you trained in? If not, I have a friend who's a scholar who could find out."

"No, there's no need to go that far."

Narberal didn't want to meet this fellow scholar for the fact that they possibly find a loophole in her story. While Narberal did memorize all the pieces of the lore of Momon and Nabe. She might make a small mistake that would haunt her and with Lord Ainz's development of the persona of Momon. She experienced that lesson on her first mission with Nfirea, and when she accidentally gave information about Albedo away.

Thus, after that event, Narberal will do anything to prevent that situation from happening again. Even if it means killing.

"Anyway, nightfall is about to occur, I should get going and tour this place. It was nice meeting you."

Narberal then walked away from him, but he continued talking.

"I just saw you with our employer, why didn't you want to tour this place with him?"

Narberal frowned. This was not an interview. Were all the humans here this annoying?

"That is none of your business."

Narberal did notice how brutal that sounded and continued on walking. She still had this job to do.


	4. Chapter 4

Later the next day, all the adventurers went to the grand hallway for the meeting.

Narberal was inside, sitting on the benches near one of the doors. She was playing with the scar on the back of her left hand, checking if it was gone yet.

Recalling the primary purpose of this mission, it was to protect Mr. Smith and his property while he moved into this mansion. Therefore, this meeting was to discuss that situation. It was to organize and to inform everyone of the situation here. Lord Ainz said there might be few other groups here. Since this place was out near the country's borders, it was quite dangerous around here. But for all the adventurers to gather in the biggest room in the building? That would seem unnecessary.

Well, that was only if the number of adventurers here was small.

Inside the grand hallway, dozens of adventurer groups could be seen from Narberal's point of view. The metal plates that were over their necks ranged from Silver to Platinum.

For a noble to hire this many "skilled" adventurers. He probably was not joking how rich he was. The mission all of them were hired to complete was also not that serious. It was merely a move out job. This was a complete waste of money. Well, humans tend to be wasteful.

Narberal will simply use this fact to her advantage. As for the other adventurers, they look to be taking advantage of this opportunity as well. Why would such stalwart adventurers take this job? Well, that was simply because Mr. Smith was paying them very well for the task they were doing.

The second reason was because that this would be a great chance to know other great adventurers. That was probably the reason why Lord Ainz picked out this job for Narberal to do.

She did know that was the objective, but she did not consider that other adventurers would be doing this job for the same reason as well. No wonder why that magic caster spoke to her yesterday.

He was making connections. No wonder why it was so chatty here.

Everyone was trying to know each other. Narberal was one of the last adventurers to arrive at the mansion. Thus, she didn't know anyone here. It would be wise for her to speak to others as well.

But that was technically unnecessary. As one of the youngest people to become an Adamantite adventurer, her name should have been at least heard by most mages. Hence, most people should already know her. However, it would still be wise for Narberal to try to reinforce her and Momon's reputation. But that would be slightly difficult. Unlike Momon, Nabe doesn't have a pleasant or charming personality.

No one, but those who admire her beauty or strength, would try to talk to her, but even then, Narberal would normally carefully shy them away with a hostile stare.

For her to change that habit. It would be hard to do. Even if Lord Ainz orders her to do so. Yes, it is a fact NPCS follow orders no matter what. Simply, it is a psychological reason that makes doing certain orders somewhat tricky.

For Narberal, being friendly with those humans was that challenge. Especially since they were acting like animals in this room.

They filled the hall with chatter. It was quite a mess. It could be comparable to an army of wolves trying to get a hold of a meal. But that only to be expected. The meeting was to be started an hour ago. The reason why it had not begun yet was because Mr. Smith was not here.

He was late.

And he wasn't merely running late. The servants told the adventurers that Mr. Smith was busy handling some other business. But usually, nobles who use that excuse are not actually conducting that act. Simply, they were just fooling around with the adventurers.

Lord Ainz and Narberal experienced this quite some time. Nobles often think adventurers were below the higher-order and were not worthy of them. Even those of the highest rank sometimes faced this, such as Gazef Stronoff.

That explained why everyone was looking quite angry now. It was unknown to Narberal why nobles act this way. In her opinion, it is merely a waste of time to figure out which ant is better than the other ant. They should already know that. Yet those humans still tend to act as if they are superior to one race or another. That simply told how stupid these humans were. If Narberal could do whatever she wanted to, she would have already taught all of these humans a lesson who they should truly be respecting.

Yet, that was not the main objective. It was to simply raise Lord Ainz's reputation for the plan he has upcoming for the future by the use of the persona of Momon. Therefore, Narberal had to try and get along with the humans.

Now that she thought about it, this might be the reason why Lord Ainz told her to go on this solo mission. He often gives her hidden objectives to Narberal to solve. And the fact he gave her this mission after killing all of those humans a week earlier.

There was no doubt that this was Lord Ainz's actual reason to send her alone here, and Narberal had not done anything that related to that objective at all.

What a foolish mistake.

Narberal wanted to sign. It took that long to figure out Lord Ainz's true intentions. She should try completing that task soon enough by interacting with the adventurers. But before she could, Mr. Smith arrived.

There was no signal of him coming to the grand hallway. Simply, Narberal could see of him coming out one of the doors on the 2nd floor. Some of the others seemed to notice their employer, and the cries of human chattering started to become quiet. Finally, he was here at last. Mr. Smith went towards the middle of the 2nd floor to announce his presence.

But he was very short. If Narberal had to guess, he was almost as small as a Dwarf. If one was blind, they would not be able to see him. That was why one of his servants was carrying a stool with them. Mr. Smith slowly walked on top of it, and thus, he spoke to the crowd.

"All you warriors," he first said, "Have been summoned here to do an important task for me. But first, you must be wondering why I hired so many of you to join me."

The audience became silent. No one knew what the man had in plan. Only hushed voices were present in the gathering.

"Well, as you can see, this mansion is large, bigger than all of my houses I have bought before. And I need all of you to help me organize my things in proper order."

"I thought you hired us to guard the mansion," said one of the men in the crowd.

"Yes, but sadly, the men I hired to organize my stuff have disappeared."

Mr. Smith then summoned a giant billboard. It contained the jobs and chores needing completion.

"All of you who specialize in different forms of academic or physical skill will be completing these tasks for me. And do not worry, I will be paying you extra, as you will be guarding and organizing my property."

Before, the grand hallway was in silence. The people inside the hall were bored to death on the information Mr. Smith was informing them.

Yet, when he declared that he would be paying them extra for doing such a simple task. The whole atmosphere of the room changed. Mr. Smith had taken their attention now. There was a grin on his face.

He was simply taking advantage of the adventurers, and no one saw it. Yes, the additional task was easy. But the fact Mr. Smith provided responsibilities for them to do that was not in the job description rose red flags, especially to Narberal.

For instance, if Mr. Smith is willing to pay adventurers and order them to do another un-agreed job, he might do it again. But this time, he might order the adventurers to complete an even more dangerous mission.

Narberal will be able to handle it. In fact, it would be good for her as Lord Ainz's reputation would increase. But for regular humans, that would be a bad thing. Simply, if the employer finds out that an adventurer would not complete a given task, they might spread bad rumors and facts about that team. As a result, the job description given was usually the only thing the adventurer did. It provided security to both the client and the employee. Of course, as adventurers, not everything goes into their plan.

But it seemed no one was paying attention to those facts. Dozens of adventurers were already forming into groups to await their orders.

One by one, everyone was given a job. A man received an order to carry heavy objects to the house and another to organize the kitchen and dust the rooms around the building.

Hence, as one would notice, most of the jobs being given were non-combat related.

Narberal even saw one Sliver adventurer team get assigned to organize the books in the library. If one were inexperienced, they would laugh at the jobs they were going to do, but in reality, this was what weak adventurers do to make money. Most young people dream of becoming adventurers to become famous or to see the world. Instead, most people realize the truth or die while learning it. Even if you are strong, the dream of adventuring is not quite as lovely as most people would think.

There are many mysteries about the world humans do not know of. And those who know it have realized that humans are a weak race in a world of monsters. That was the definition of humans hundreds of years ago. But now most people are arrogant of that truth since many powerful races died in the hands of the Greedy Evil Kings.

Now it is the humans are the ones who have become greedy.

It only took ten minutes for all of them to be given their task. Once the last group was assigned their duties, only Narberal and a few others were still in the grand hallway. It was her turn next and stood. She has been quietly sitting all this time to wait for the crowds of humans to disappear into the light. It was meaningless to be stuck in a maze filled with dirty humans. Besides, those who are last are often tasked with harder jobs in the end and often are given more important duties.

Well, that was kinda true. Simply, Narberal would be tasked with something very vital since she was ranked Adamantite.

The job would likely be combat-related, such as hunting down the beast that is killing all of the adventurers. That was the main threat that was commented in the job description. From the stories of what she heard from the adventurers, it seemed the beast was quite strong, even able to defeat some groups of platinum ranked adventurers in a few hits.

Therefore, with the next most powerful group only being ranked Mithril, there was no way anyone but herself would have the ability to kill it. There was no doubt she would be assigned to kill this monster.

But there was a voice.

"And Nabe, the Adamantite adventurer, you will be organizing the old books in the grand library and translating them into a new notebook. Of course, your personal maid will accompany you."

And of course, Narberal froze in place, her hands turned cold and her face. It was calm, but inside, she was motionless. They cannot know her secret. The secret she cannot read or write.

"Mr. Smith, can I be ordered to do something else?"

His small narrow eyes were now on Narberal.

"Why is that Mis. Nabe? You are one of the few people here suitable for this task. As a top-rated mage, it should be easy for you to translate these books into a notebook."

Her hopes were lost after that. Human mages were usually experts in language arts, as most of them have read hundreds of books to get a grasp of how magic works.

But Narberal was basically born with the ability to use 8th tier magic.

 _"Why didn't Mr. Smith mention the monster? Was it not a problem anymore?"_ Narberal should have asked a different question, but now it's too late. She cannot cause any more suspicion. Though her reading and writing skills have not improved much since she last practiced, there was still some hope that the books were not that hard to read.

"If you have no more questions, Miss Nabe, then onto the next task at hand."

Mr. Smith's eyes were no longer on her. She was just given a simple task a gold-ranked adventurer could do. Thus, she could not complain too much about the topic. But again, what is that tiny bug thinking? Did he forget about the monster that he needed help to kill? Or did that monster already pass away?

If that did happen, this whole mission already lost one of its main objections. And now that Narberal thought about it, the only Mithril adventurer team here was not in the grand hallway with her. Was that group assigned to kill that monster? If they were, did they already kill the beast? No, that was no likely, the magic caster she met yesterday stated he was patrolling the mansion outer borderlines. Thus, the monster was probably still alive.

Therefore, why did Mr. Smith not task her to help with the investigation? Was it to fool the great Lord Ainz and herself? If it was, then Narberal would instantly kill and destroy his entire exist to live. Yet, since she was an adventurer, she probably has to do this nobly, but how could one do that?

Just before Narberal could up for a solution for that problem, a child came rushing forward toward Narberal. It was the maid that she met yesterday.

The girlish figure of the tiny child made Narberal want to call the kid a slug.

"Hi, Nabe. sorry for my actions last night, I believe we haven't introduced ourselves properly yet... my name is Aqua it is a….."

"I do not care for your name, and I do not need your help."

"Well, can I at least show you where the grand library is, so please follow me."

Narberal followed the maid and crossed the hallways and stairs. On her way, she continued to think of the possibility if Mr. Smith was actually targeting Lord Ain's reputation. But she finally left with the conclusion that even if he was, the best action Narberal could do was simply complete the task she was given. If she does that, Mr. Smith and the others would simply see Narberal does live up to her title. But that would be difficult to do. This was because she could not read or write.

She had to come up for a solution for that problem fast, they were already at the library. It was much grander than she had thought it would be.

The room was three stories tall, and all of them were filled with dozens of bookshelves. It covered all of its three floors, and if all the books in the library were to be placed in one spot, someone could spot the book's height from miles away if the world was flat.

"So," The child asked, "How can I help you?"

Narberal signed. It appeared she could not get the little maid off her.

"Just help me gather the books and place them outside my bedroom. That is all the help I will need."

"Are you sure, won't you need help translating the books?"

As soon as the girl said those words, Narberal fist tightened, and her expression changed. Just before Narberal could insult the little creature, she recalled her mission to stay friendly with the humans here.

"No, just gather the books…. needing translation….. and bring them to my room."

That was the hardest thing Narberal had to say today.

"Yes, ma'am!" the little girl said with excitement in her eyes.

Once the maid left, Narberal walked towards the wall of books and briefly touched their back covers. Many spotted her eyes, and most of them were old and dusty. By the time she was done, she had collected over a dozen of books. All of them were needing in a new vessel. Luckily some of them were small, but of course, there were large ones.

She first grabbed the biggest ones, with her maid standing next to her, staring.

"Miss Nabe, that is quite a lot of books you have," Aqua said, still staring, "I can help you with that."

"Maid, just gather the rest of the books and place them near my room."

"Is that all the help-"

Before the young girl can finish her sentence, Narberal was already gone from her view. It seemed like she didn't need her assistance.

But in reality, Narberal did actually need her help. It wasn't long before Narberal made it to her room and closed the door. She then sat on a chair next to the desk and opened the first book from the pile she collected.

It was large, but a person could handle it. So could Narberal if she knew how to read. As the pages were flipped, every single one of them, the words. She could not understand any of it.

 _"Hm, This is fantastic. I can barely read any of this."_

Narberal then grabbed her bag and pulled out the scroll of Translation. Lord Ainz told her to use it only when necessary and never to use it in public. Using this out in the open is similar to saying that the user cannot read or write. Not only that, it was rare to see someone using it or let alone having it.

Because of that fact, she then got up from her seat and locked the door. She then cast multiple spells to make sure no one could spy or hear her.

"It seems like I must use the translation scroll," she said as she sat back down.

Soon she started her work reasonably fast. After an hour, she completed translating one book and continued on throughout the rest of the day working.


	5. Chapter 4 part 2

Life as a servant here is physically taxing. Especially if you are a child. Usually, servants would simply do what people expect of them. They would clean the house, and that was it.

However, being a servant here was different. It was because it was dangerous around here.

Demi-humans, such as goblins liked to show up here. To combat that, maids and butlers had excellent combat skills. No one would believe that at first glance. Aqua didn't have faith in that statement, too, until she witnessed her co-workers defend this household.

No wonder why there were no child servants here. They would be too weak to live here and die a brutal death. Hence, it wondered why Aqua was even picked to serve here.

She had only begun working as a maid. Although she did have some experience working in a house due to being born into a wealthy family, being a child has not given her much life experience.

It was because of that; her physical body was not used to this type of environment. Neither was her mind. Only recently, she'd been separated from her parents and was left alone with her older brother, who was now dead.

It was only until now when she met Mr. Smith, she started working as a servant. Now, life was entirely different from when she lived in a wealthy family. Thus, after being exposed to the reality of this world, the child started to train at her best to serve her employer. Orders were the only thing that mattered.

It does not matter what other people may think of her. If she cannot do a task, then she will face the consequences and trained herself never to make the same mistake. Such as if a client was annoying or hard to take care of. If Aqua found herself to being tasked to care for such a person, she could continue to do that task with no complaints.

However, some things were impossible for a child to do, such as intense physical work. Because of that, Aqua would help this place out doing other things.

That involved reading. Academic skills were what she was very good at.

Being in the library would tell everyone that fact. Currently, Aqua was collecting old and ruined books needing to be translated. Well, she was doing that. Instead, she was simply reading fictional storybooks. The child often went here when she had free time to read. Usually, servants would not have that luxury, which was the reason why the child was so excited when the adventurer Nabe was tasked to translate the books.

Now the child has an excuse to be here.

She smiled when she heard the news. However, that did not mean she could slack off.

"Servant Aqua, get back to work."

One of her superiors were in the library with her. He was the librarian and knew the reason why the child was there.

"Yes, sir."

The kid stood up and went to the old part of the library. Decaying books were scattered around the dusty shelves. It would take a lifetime to read all of these books. Yet, all of them would be destroyed before one would be able to read them all.

Aqua only read a few of the books, but each one of them contained information that may benefit humanity. It was a good thing Mr. Smith was planning to restore their youth.

Despite the way he looks and acts, he was merely an old man who valued information that may benefit the future. Maybe that's the reason why Aqua was picked off when she was at her lowest.

He was simply looking out for the future generation. Although she did not understand the benefit of fully restoring this building to its prime. Mr. Smith already had this building for quite some time.

It was only now that he decided to fix it with the help of adventurers.

 _"Couldn't the servants simply fix the house themselves?"_

The kid shook her head, every servant here had great skill in combat and housekeeping, but not in fields that required specialization. For example, if Mr. Smith didn't hire Miss Nabe, nobody else would have been able to translate such a vast amount of books.

Aqua and a few other servants can read and write, but they did not have the mana ability to translate dozens of books at once. That led to the development of mages being the best choice for this task.

The more mana a magic caster has, the more books that person can translate. Since Mr. Smith solely hired Miss Nabe to do this. That meant she had enough mana to translate all of the old books within the library.

No wonder why she was given the title of Adamantite Magic Caster.

When Aqua first heard of that title, she thought of someone who's in their late 50's. However, Miss Nabe looked as if she was in her late teens. The child read multiple books of how rare that is.

So far, she only heard of two people who were able to reach a similar level as Nabe at a young age; Calca Bessarez, the queen of the Roble Holy Kingdom, and Lakyus, an adventurer from Blue Rose.

There are likely many more people who reached that level. After all, this world is massive. Before coming here, Aqua lived in an environment where blonde-haired people such as herself were scarce to come across.

Now it is the opposite in this new place.

The child wondered if she could ask Miss Nabe many more of the questions she has. However, when she first met her. She looked very busy. Aqua decide best to leave the questions for later.

For now, Aqua grabbed all of the piles of old books and began to head to Nabe's room.

Carrying this much stuff was hard for the child.

They were not too heavy. It was the pure mass of the pile, which made it hard to carry. If Aqua didn't know better, she would have questioned why so many books exist in the first place without the use of machines such as the printing press.

To answer that, Aqua found that out because of magic. Creating new copies of a book only requires a new set of papers, basic knowledge of the book's content, and as well as magical energy.

Unfortunately, that means you must have the ability to read. That's why skilled workers are required for the task.

The literacy rate for the country is meager, but every adventurer is required to know how to read and write. Most could do the task if they had enough mana to continuously make copies of books.

But even if you had tons of mana to spare, if your unfocused or uncoordinated, you won't find any work in a field like this.

Thus, knowing this increased Aqua's opinion of Nabe even more.

"Nabe…. Miss Nabe, please open the door,"

Finally, the kid had also reached the door.

It was late at night already, and the maid was standing in front of Nabe's room. Her hands were still full of books. The child wanted to let Nabe know she left some on the floor for her to translate, but It seemed she was not in her room.

The girl dropped them all, but one, on the ground and grabbed her keys to open the door.

Well, as you can imagine, once the little girl opened the door, she found Nabe translating the old books into a notebook with the use of a translation scroll. When the girl lay her eyes on the mage, her eyes widen with confusion. This was because the maid knew what that scroll was.

Not from her private studies, but from being with many adventurers. Often, high ranking teams used scrolls to identify historical items or books.

But this adventurer, Nabe, was using it to identify a simple book. The child immediately knew what was going on. But did not predict a sudden feeling of bloodlust.

The maid turned around. She found herself trapped in the room as Nabe closed the door, and this time, the adventurer made sure to secure it safely. It seems Nabe couldn't hear the girl knocking due to the side-effects of the spell she cast on the room.

"You little slug," Nabe said.

The little girl thought Nabe was going to kill her right then and there.

But Nabe did not kill her, but she came close.

 **Part 2**

The only reason the child was still alive was because of the book she was holding in her hands. Narberal caught sight of the book with such absurdity, she laid down her hands and rethought the situation. That was a close call. She really did almost kill that kid. Now, as one could imagine, she had just made a big mistake. The child had just witnessed her brutal personality towards humans. The only reason why Narberal was able to regain insight of the situation was because of that book.

It was the same one Timothy had. The cover looked different, but still looked identical to the one found on his body. Since very few of these books were made, the child must have known or come in contact with that man.

 _"What would Lord Ainz do?"_ Narberal wondered. Should she kill the child to steal the book and keep the secret she cannot read, or shall she spare the young girl? No, all of those choices were not ideal. Since the kid was young, there was a possibility that the kid had not noticed her using a translation scroll. No, again, that was false. The child knew what she was doing based on her reaction. There was no use in playing stupid here.

For now, it might be best to get the child back to a calm state before deciding what to do. Thus, she had to talk politely. Narberal looked at the book the girl was still holding and decided to ask her about it as if she didn't know anything.

"I apologize, I thought you were an enemy of mine. Now that book, is that the…. ?"

" I understand…. I… accept your apology. It's quite dangerous here after all…. you were just on guard."

Well, that statement came quite fast. If the child's words were true, Narberal might have just avoided a terrible fate. Yet it seemed the child had other things to say.

"And…..sorry. I interrupted you, didn't I? This here is called The Child's Handbook," The girl said while shivering, "This is one of the first books I've ever read here…. I was hoping to read it to myself after I completed my task. Do you know it?"

"Where did you get that book?"

"I got it from an old lady."

It was a lie, Narberal noticed it. First of all, that book was only recently published. However, she figured the maid had nothing to do with Timothy. The child was a maid, owned by the mansion, Narberal had other things to worry about.

"Now, for all things considered, I have to apologize for not knocking on the door. I have no right to blame you for the hostile actions you were going to do against me as I could have been a monster coming out of those doors. However….. Miss Nabe, before I came here, you were using the scroll of translation … were you? If you do not know how to read, then I can gladly teach you."

The girl pulled out one of the large books from the pile she gathered. She then turned to the first page and handed it and a pen to Narberal.

"Here, tell me how many words you can read on this page alone."

Narberal looked at it and lied.

"I can read all of it, now tell me why you didn't follow my…"

"If you can read it, then say the words on the page."

"That would take too much time."

The child's face suddenly changed. She was looking quite afraid moments ago. Now, it almost looked as if she was trying to hold in a smile.

"Oh? Too much time?"

Narberal face dropped. She used the wrong wording.

"No, simply, I would rather have you answer my questions first."

"Miss Nabe, I do not mean to anger you, but I simply ask if you can read this small sentence from my favorite book. That should not take too long, would it?"

This was it. The moment. Narberal reading skills were not excellent. But if it is just a sentence. Narberal may be able to do it. She might be able to prove the child she is able to read and write in the New world's language. Plus, she had read the same book the child was holding in her arms. This should be easy.

"Fine, but once I do this. Tell me why you came to my room without permission."

"I promise."

Aqua then handed her The Childhand Book and Narberal flipped to several pages. She had to choose carefully, yet not in a way it would be obvious she was picking and choosing the easiest page to read off. Of course, it had to be perfect. She had just resolved a careless mistake. Because of that, it was certainly possible that she could fix this problem as well.

"Wait, read this page. This is my favorite part of the book."

Yet, the child suddenly took command of the situation. Wasn't she just scared deathless moments ago?

"Why?"

"Is that a problem?"

"It is not."

Narberal then looked at the book again. This was a problem. She did not read this part of the book yet. Plus, she could barely understand anything that was written inside of it.

 _"Dammit."_

What should Narberal do? Should she message Lord Ainz so she could have permission to use one of the time stop scrolls to quickly translate the book? No, that would not work. You cannot use any type of magic if you use time-stop. Thus, that was out of the question. Narberal could not come up with anything, but for one solution.

"Child, I believe you are my caretaker, correct? If that is true, you do not have permission to order me around."

"Miss Nabe, the book is in front of you."

The child started to puff her cheeks. She was holding the desire to laugh.

" You... were even staring at it for a few moments, and you still continue to say that."

"No."

"Hehe, It's okay... I understand, no wonder you didn't want me to help, you don't know how to read at all, do you?"

Narberal was wordless. She could not find the words to express her thoughts as this little bug pointed out the flaws in her reading skills. Instead, she intentionally broke the pen the girl gave her to show how annoyed she was.

"Ah sorrrry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that... I understand that feeling of unable to read."

The child slowly glanced her eyes at Narberal. Had she forgotten her head almost got chopped off?

 _"Is the child saying she understood my unusual actions?"_

Before Narberal could question the child, the girl grabbed some paper from Narberal's notebook and wrote some letters down for her to read and write.

"Let us start from scratch," The girl pointed out the basic letters of the alphabet to Narberal and insisted her to write and read them out loud

Narberal looked at the sheet of paper and suddenly felt even more lost. For a small child to have a much higher reading level than her. It felt annoying, or for a better term, embarrassing.

She felt she should end the human's life and tell Mr. Smith a beast ate the girl. But before she could do anything, she looked at the little girl again and began to realize that she may be able to exploit the girl into teaching her how to read and write.

"Little girl, if you want to live, I suggest you teach me everything you know about this language."

The maid replied with a smile on her face. As she knew Nabe had requested her to be her teacher.

She then sat back down in her chair and started working on the problems the maid gave her.

"By the way, Mis Nabe, you can call me Aqua. It would be a pain if you cannot find me if you need my service."

"Well, Aqua, since you are my maid, I order you to never tell anyone about this, and if you do, I will break your neck."

"I understand, as your servant, I will keep your secret safe with me."

Aqua grabbed one of the extra chairs in the room and sat by the magic caster. She then placed her hands on the table and began to instruct her, but occasionally stop to ask more questions. Despite Narberal's threats to kill her, Aqua didn't seem to be affected by her, as she still had a bright smile on her face.

"So how long should we study today, It is already pretty late, I think we should start early in the morning," Aqua said.

"No, this is fine. Based on how much I need to learn, and because of the job I still need to do, we shall study for the rest of the night."

"Wait, you are not planning to spend the whole night studying…. are you?"

"I am a high ranked magic caster. I do not need to rest as often as you do."

"That reminds me, how did you become a mage when you don't even know how to read?"

"Just shut up, and teach me,"

"Yes, ma'am,"

Aqua then began to teach Nabe everything she knew about reading and writing. Throughout most of the night, Aqua explained Narberal the basis, but later in the night, the child went back to her headquarters to go to bed while Narberal continued to study.

Once an hour has passed since the child's departure, Narberal stopped writing and looked outside her window. She could tell it was past midnight as she was one of the few adventurers left awake.

"How gullible I am. It's impossible to learn this in one sitting."

She decided to take a small break, but could not take her mind off of Aqua, If that child gives information away she and the great Momon could not read, everyone would mock them, and their reputation would fall.

She wondered if it would be wise to tell Lord Ainz. However, she felt it was unnecessary yet, as she still had the situation under control.

But it was still risky. Maybe she should threaten the child more?

It wasn't a bad idea, at least to Narberal. In fact, she was about to head out the room, until she noticed that Aqua left her favorite book in the room, The Child's Handbook.

She grabbed the book and noticed the author's name, subtitle, and the picture of the book. Everything was partly blurred out. The only thing readable was the author's name. Timothy, and the book's original contents.

She frowned.

No new information and now a human child who knows Narberal's embarrassing secret that could possibly end her career. She hopes nothing else would get in the way of her mission.


	6. Chapter 5

There were three sets of piles in the room. One was for the new books, the second pile was for the useless ones, and the last collection was the old literary works still needing a new replacement.

Usually, Narberal only worked on the books at night. She still needs to fulfill her primary duty as a guard and took that role in the morning. However, she wanted to finish the books as soon as possible. If she were just an average human, this task would have taken weeks. Usually, a human could only recreate a few dozen books before their magic energy gets too low.

Of course, her mana supply is much higher than any average human. She could spend the whole day doing this if she wanted to. The only reason why it was taking so long to do this job was that she didn't know how to read the human language.

That's where her maid came in to help.

"Slug," Narberal said, apparently that was the kid's new nickname, "Get me a few more books."

The maid nodded, walking to the pile. Having another hand at work was more promising than Narberal thought. No wonder why Lord Ainz always requested help from the floor guardians or even her.

Even if he is a perfect being, he cannot be everywhere at once. That's why having assistants are always helpful. If they were skillful, everything would be sped up. If they are useless, they may create a more significant problem.

Narberal signed, if only she had the useful type.

Aqua tripped over a pile of books. They fell and stomped over the other collections. Narberal turned to look, and what she had thought became true.

"I'm sorry. I will clean this up right away."

"Fine, it's time for me to leave anyhow. Once I'm back, this place better be clean."

The child nodded while cleaning the pile of books. Her happy attitude changed after working with Narberal for several days.

It wondered her, but now she understands it. Aqua is a terrible maid. She cannot do anything right. Each time she requests something, the child does the task with total failure. When asked to clean the floor, she makes a room even dirtier. If you ask her to carry heavy luggage, she'd be too weak to do so.

Narberal thought this child was gifted at first. Even if she knew how to read this language, Aqua's literacy skills would still surpass hers. However, as it turns out, that was the only thing she was good at.

Narberal got tired of it once and lectured the maid about her lack of skill for half an hour. The kid disappeared for the entire day after that. Hopefully, she didn't tell anyone. Now, the maid only visits Narberal whenever she had to help her translate the books and tutor her.

You could say this was a victory for Narberal as she can finally be alone. Well, except for the time she had to guard the place.

It was an exhausting time for most adventurers. Doing two jobs at once was taxing.

Everyone besides Narberal or a few others, everyone would simply rest while keeping guard.

This was because it was safe around here. The mansion was large and was in the middle of dozens of trees with no other buildings in sight. She didn't even see any monsters coming here. Narberal was expecting to fight at least once before she arrived here. That was the main reason to come to this place after all.

But now there were no signs of that monster.

Narberal was referring to the legendary monster that Mr. Smith needed the adventurers to kill. It's been a few days, yet that Mithril adventurer group that was assigned to kill that monster has not found the monster. No trace of it, in fact.

Yet, no other party was tasked to search for the beast. Many of the adventurers think it merely ran away. But if that was the case, there should be reports of a monster running around the borderline of the country. Thus, it was likely the monster was still here. It was only that no one found it yet.

Narberal could possibly find it herself.

No, her skill set did not specialize in hunting. Simply, if she used her rabbit ears or the magic scrolls Lord Ainz gave her, there was a possibility she could find the monster. The only reason she did not do so yet was that she was hoping Mr. Smith would manually task the mission to her at some point. But that did not happen.

Plus, she was also swamped in organizing the books in the mansion. Usually, even on guard duty, she would be spending her time translating books as we speak in a secured location. Of course, she had to worry about people checking on her and used illusory spells to hide her cover. Yet, because of the task she was given, she simply did not have time to look for the monster or do the hidden objection Lord Ainz had set in stone.

But today, she was quite free of her usual work since the child was helping her with that task.

Now that she recalled, the adventurers here described that the beast looked like an ogre. If she doesn't kill it, coming here would lose its value. Narberal signed. She began to think about sneaking out on guard duty to search for the monster. Most of the adventurers would assume she was ordered to get something. Plus, everyone else was either busy or tired of organizing the mansion.

Narberal guessed it was alright to leave her post.

No one was around to see her, nor was anyone coming to check on her.

It would be easy.

She decided to do it. Narberal activated her invisible skill and combined it with her rabbit ears. Sometimes, monsters have the ability to see whenever a person is coming, and the rabbit ears helped in search of any unusual noise.

To the north, a few hundred meters were several noises. They were not from humans nor from the common wildlife. Usually, the spell rabbit ears weren't powerful enough to hear sounds from that distance, but with the support spells, the effect dramatically increased.

She found her target.

Through the forest, past where the other adventurers were working, there was a faint noise of a monster moving around the area. If Narberal brings back the monster that's been killing the adventurers, there is no doubt her and her lord's reputation would increase.

Narberal dreamed of the aftermath. She could already see all the human nobles bowing towards her and Lord Ainz.

Spreading their fame was hard at first. The first time making their name was a disaster. Every adventurer they met somehow ended up dead, such as Blade of Darkness.

She better make sure not to kill too many humans if she is caught doing something wrong.

Just to make sure no one follows her, she placed in several illusion traps in her path. Narberal didn't want anyone else to take her credit. It is good to have eyewitnesses see her kill the monster to scale how powerful it is, however, the adventurers here already know its strength and appearance.

It's safer to kill it alone.

She used teleportation to scale the distance between the monster and her. It's only a 3rd tier spell, but it scaled enough distance.

Narberal then scanned the area for any tracks. There were footsteps of adventurers coming over here, and they looked to be recent. The Mithril group assigned to kill the monster likely searched here already. As a result, they should have been able to spot the beast.

The only reason why they had not done so was probably due to the fact it could turn invisible. Hence, if those adventurers could not spot the beast, Narberal would typically not be able to do so as well. She is not an expert at tracking animals, but with some tips from Solution and one of the floor guardians, she was confident in her ability to capture a low-level monster.

Just using her rabbit ears was enough to generally locate the monster. If she uses a low tier AOE attack, there could be a chance the beast will show up.

"Lighting Sphere,"

Narberal placed her hand in front of her and started chanting the words of the spell. She could have just done it in silence, but like Lord Ainz and the other NPCs, it was just a habit.

And it looks like the habit was useful.

A dark figure rose from the ground. It was shaped like a human but had no facial features nor an indication if it was a man or woman.

Narberal placed her hands down, and calmly walked towards the dark shadow. It wasn't the monster that was haunting this mansion, but a loyal subject of Lord Ainz himself.

"Momon summoned you, I believe."

The shadow demon arose and did a slight bow to Narberal. In the Tomb of Nazarick, Narberal was technically a higher rank than most. About 35% of NPCs in the tomb are stronger than her, but due to the Pleiades's reputation, she and her sisters are generally favored regardless of their strength.

She stared at the demon for a short while to determine its power and type. It was a low tier demon, only around level 23, weaker than average. Although Members of Nazarick can sense each other, they cannot immediately tell who is in front of them.

"The great one sent me in case anyone too strong appears or if you require assistance."

"I see, were those your only orders?"

The shadow nodded while floating in the air. Narberal looked around just in case anyone was near them. Often, when one goes into the new world, precautions were often carried around with them to make sure a situation such as Shalltear does not happen. Thus, in this case, the shadow demon here was likely to overview Narberal and call for reinforcements if such a threat appears.

But since Shadow demons were quite rare in this world. Narberal was looking around her to make sure no one sees the demon.

Well, it was also because she wanted to address her guild master as Lord Ainz instead of Momon, however, even if no one is there, she still must call him by that.

"Nabe, since you have found me, has something urgent occurred?"

"No, but I am looking for some abnormal beasts. Have you seen anything like that?"

"I've searched the area a few times, and I have found nothing that looked dangerous even to humans."

"Not even a trace of a beast?"

There was no response. If a shadow demon couldn't find anything harmful, then it is very likely the beast is not in the area anymore.

"Then the mission was a bust, nothing good to exploit out of it."

"If you desire, I could tell Momon to summon a beast similar in power to the one you are looking for."

"No, not yet. If I do that, eyewitnesses will be necessary for it."

"Then, should we wait for the monster to return?"

She nodded, "Just in case, report to me if you find anything."

The demon nodded and disappeared from her view.

Since the shadow demon was searching the area, she didn't have to stay there anymore and decided it would be best to head back.

Just in case, she used rabbit ears to see if anyone was at her post. She checked everyone's schedule, and it said she'd be the only one there for the morning.

But there was a noise.

Not from her post, but here.

It was a human footstep. It sounded as if it came from an adult man.

 _"Those insects, were they following me?"_

Narberal placed in illusion spells just in case if anyone did end up going near her. So why did she hear someone near her?

She pointed her finger towards the noise and launched a quick lightning spell at it.

Nothing hit.

She teleported to the target, but nothing was there.

The person must have used a teleportation spell to get past all the barriers. Even if she called out the shadow demon to help out, the human must have escaped to the mansion.

Narberal signed, thankfully she and the shadow demon didn't talk about anything confidential. But she wanted to find who was stalking her. Since the person left nothing behind, she can't use Scroll of Locate Object to find the person who was following her.

The only thing she could do was wait. Hopefully, they don't say anything bad.


	7. Chapter 6

The room was quiet, and Aqua was there, reviewing her studies. It was still early in the morning, and she was inside the servant quarters. Every servant slept there, and the rooms were divided by gender and age.

Since there were no children servants here, Aqua always slept with the youngest female adults. They were very irresponsible for their age. The child would often find the room to be a mess. You would think maids would always be clean, but most people would be wrong.

At least her roommates tended to be very messy. There were three beds in the room, and both of her roommates did not pick up after themselves. Of course, servants had to have a certain standard of cleanliness for their rooms.

That's why Aqua always had to do the dirty work. She guessed that it was because of her lower rank. This place held about 15 servants here. That was quite a large number. Therefore, positions were necessary to keep order in this building.

It merely went as intern, servant, senior, and then Manager.

Since Aqua had the lowest rank, she had to most of the dirty and straightforward work. Working with Nabe was an exception. This is because Mr. Smith knows about her exceptional skills in language arts. Thus, this was the time to show everyone what she can do.

Well, that was the plan.

Miss Nabe is a tough person to get along with.

Even if Aqua came early into the job of helping her, she would still get scolded. No benefits would occur. Besides, in these past few days, she had been teaching Miss Nabe how to read and write late in the night. Getting up early in the morning was now becoming harder and harder for her. It would be better just to get more rest. Her body was still growing, and getting more hours of rest outweighs the rewards of getting a few words of complaints.

Plus, she was already starting to feel the side effects of not getting enough sleep. Well, that was also due to the fact she also did something horrible while working with Miss Nabe.

It could not be described by her, nor by a different servant, but it was a mistake that one would obviously not make.

The child must ask.

Aqua walked over to her desk and looked out the window. The sun was unusually high in the sky for the time. She would go now if everyone was awake. She glanced at her desk and grabbed the small alarm clock.

 _"I wonder if I can go out before I go assist Miss Nabe."_

She had about an hour before she would go off to work. Hence, the child decided to put on her casual garments. Her maid outfit was not needed for this. Besides, it looked very dull. It was merely a black and white plain-looking dress. There were no accessories to make it look pretty or attractive. If you took out the colors, it would just look like the child was a commoner.

The higher-ranking servants had much more beautiful clothing. Butler had gorgeous suits, and maids had dresses you would see in a noble's party.

Not that the child cared about appearances too much. Not even she had been to that many parties when she was younger. All she cared about was finding a secured lifestyle.

She always wished it could be like before. Her hands were still soft and gentle for her previous lifestyle. Servants tended to have their hands harden from the hard labor. But since Aqua was still a child, she did not have the strength to do those jobs. Therefore, she was always tasked with doing no hard physical labor jobs and was regularly made fun of for it by her co-workers.

That was only to be expected, the child was often given easier tasks to do despite being of a lower rank.

But it was still a pain to deal with.

That was likely the reason her roommates always tasked her to clean the room. After the child got ready, She looked back to check if the room was in an appropriate condition for the mansion and then headed down the stairs.

She didn't see anyone cross the hallways. They must have been eating in the cafeteria. The mansion was vast. Likely three times the size of her old house. She supposed it was reasonable to see them empty once in a while.

No one goes in this hallway at this time besides the librarian. Aqua walked towards him and waved her hand. Even though he was a much higher rank, Aqua thought she could begin acting more casually around him due to her going to the library all the time.

"Miss, this place requires a certain state of appearance to walk around here."

Aqua lowered her head. Everyone she works with is like this.

"Yes, sir."

Aqua raised her voice. She had another reason to greet the librarian. A few days ago, she had lost one of her favorite books, The Child's Handbook. It was merely a children's book that had some advice on how one should act in certain situations. However, Aqua simply treasured the work as it was one of the last gifts she had received from her older brother.

"Sir," Aqua spoke, "Did you happen to find any lost or misplaced books around the building?"

"No, even if I did, I would not assist you in finding any lost books you happen to misplace."

The library swiftly walked passed her. It looked like the child had to find the book herself. She probably had about 40 minutes of free time and then 10 minutes to go back to her room and change. There was no way she could find her book in that amount of time. The child did not even know where to start. Well, that was an understatement. Technically, she had a pretty good idea where it was.

The last time she recalled seeing it was in Miss Nabe's room. While it would be easy to ask the mistress if she has seen it. The child still recalled the event when Miss Nabe nearly chopping off her head off. The child never met anyone like that.

It scared the hell out of her. And the said reason for doing that action was likely a lie as well. Miss Nabe was going to kill her simply because the child found out she could not read or write. That reasoning so strange. No, that person, Nabe, is a very bizarre person.

Although Aqua was now okay in going inside, the thought of getting killed still popped in her mind.

The child slapped both of her cheeks. She has been there for countless hours now. If the adventurer wanted to kill her, Miss Nabe would have done it by now. She just needs to make sure to knock on the door loudly this time.

Her room was up the stairs, right below the library's first floor. It was likely Mr. Smith planned for Miss Nabe to translate the books all this time. Having rooms near a particular location always has a reason.

Now that Aqua thinks about it. Everything in this building was built to be as simple as possible. Including the bedrooms.

Aqua knocked on the door, No one answered. She proceeded to open the door. No one was there. That was very strange. Miss Nabe would usually be in her room at this time. The child glanced over the furniture and stumbled on a clock.

"Huh?"

The time was different from what she remembered. It was 7 am. That was not what the child remembered. In her bedroom, it said it was 6 am. The child waved her hand over her head. That was the reason everyone was already up.

That also meant Miss Nabe had gone ahead.

 _"She is going to kill me."_

Aqua closed the door and ran down the stairs.

Once in the library, she went to the second floor of the room. The library was clean, with only a few people were there as usual. The child was about to head towards the area where she would often find Nabe. Usually, when working with her, Aqua would simply help transfer and bring the books inside Nabe's room. Since she was not there, this was the next obvious place she may have gone to.

But before Aqua could continue, she spotted one of her superiors assisting her. It was one of the head servants of the manor named Mr. Ray. He was empty-handed, but seemed to be talking her.

"Mis, Nabe," that was the first thing Aqua heard.

"I apologize on behalf of your maid. Your assistant has overslept and is sleeping as we speak of," The butler then pulled out a piece of paper, "That maid is nothing, but an inexperienced child. If you need to, I can assign a much more experienced servant to your needs."

The butler then brought out his other hand.

It was a signal.

She was not welcomed here.

Aqua looked down towards herself. She knew Nabe would accept his offer.

Who wouldn't?

She was about to leave until she heard a few words of enlightenment.

It came from the mage.

"I suggest you keep your opinion to yourself. I find the girl to be much more capable than you."

The butler then muttered and left Nabe to her workings.

Not long after he left, Nabe quivered to death. The only reason she said that was to avoid having another servant.

But to Aqua, Nabe's response made her very surprised, so much so she wanted to say thank you. She would have yelled it out loud If they were the only ones there.

But instead, she did not.

 _"Does Miss Nabe actually find my work promising?"_

No, maybe she only did that because if Nabe fires her. The child could spread the secret that the adventurer could not read or write. But again, It may have been because Aqua been doing an excellent job at teaching Miss Nabe how to read and write. And regardless of the case. The mage still helped her. The child should say her thanks.

But to do that, the child must catch up to her. She could have written a letter to thank her. But that wouldn't do. It is better to say it in person. Hence, once the child went to the third floor. the girl prepared whatever reaction Miss. Nabe would give her.

Yet that event would have to wait. This was because Aqua couldn't find Nabe. She left before the child had a chance to see her.

She then walked to the table where the mage was. The books were still there. That was strange. Why would Miss Nabe leave the books here alone? No, that reason was obvious. With the day still in its early stages, It was likely that Nabe went to the cafeteria for breakfast. Often the maid would never find Nabe never eating, but once in a blue moon, she did see the adventurer visit the kitchen. The girl thought she could discover Nabe there, but she could not. The child checked everywhere. From the kitchen to the tables, and to the grand hallway. It seemed like Aqua couldn't find Nabe at all.

That breakfast, Narberal ate outside. Even though she didn't need to eat due to the ring she wears. It was still lovely to taste the favor of the expensive meals the mansion offers. It appeared the girl hadn't taken note of that yet.

Aqua was about to give in, but before she could, she noticed a group of strange people looking out towards the backyard. They were staring at Miss Nabe. Finally, the girl had found her. But before she could go to her side, She noticed the group talking strangely about her. They were gossiping about her.

Of all things to do, those fools decided to do that today.

 **Part 2**

Jet Testania has the talent to see through illusions.

No, I shouldn't say Jet as his current name is Alaric Nobleman, a dropout from multiple magic schools in the Baharuth Empire.

The reasons he doesn't use his real name are unknown nor the reasons why he is a very different person from when he was a sixteen-year-old boy, but what is known is the recent viewing of the latest Adamantite group called Darkness.

He did not have a clue who they were or how they became so famous, but what he did realize an opportunity to blackmail them. This idea appeared to him yesterday when he was spying on that adventurer. No, he was not purposely spying on Nabe. He simply was on guard duty to search for the legendary beast Mr. Smith told him and his team to look out for.

In fact, his group was the only ones tasked for this. Therefore, all of them were spread out. If one located the beast. Alaric would simply use the spell [message], and his teammates will notify the other adventurers to take it down.

It was as simple as that.

But while searching for the beast yesterday. He stumbled across several strange barriers of illusions blocking parts of the forest. As an adventurer, obviously, one would want to know who and what reason such a barrier appeared. That is when he found and eavesdropped on Nabe.

It was bad luck that he was not able to hear too much information about her secrets. But in that event, he did witness Nabe talking to a shadow demon. Those types of creatures are very rare. In fact, Alaric has only seen a few of them in his lifetime.

That only further increase his interest, and after escaping that event, Alaric took some time to look into Nabe's background. It was quite interesting when he read their history. There were quite a lot of plot holes in their personal past. Well, they were not really plot holes, just unanswered questions needed to be explained.

Since there were many other adventurer groups here. Jet was surprised no one else had found out this information, including the nobles. Every noble out here always looked for exploits in famous people. Yes, there could be some valid reasons not to exploit her weakness. Such as power, influence, or money. However, it is likely why no one does so because she possessed a very fearful aura around herself. Even Jet slightly feared her when his eyes met hers.

However, that did not compare to the countless times he faced death in the past. Because of his dangerous habit of stalking others, there have been many times where he'd been almost killed or kicked out of the adventurer's guild.

It would be wiser to simply join the worker faction.

Adventurers are limited in the activities they can do. However, once a person joins the workers, the various things they are hired to do are near endless. That included doing criminal activities.

Yet, Jet had not joined that fraction. It was due to a personal hatred towards a retired Adamantite adventurer, but thinking about that was pointless right now.

Currently, he possessed knowledge that would bring him fame and riches.

Jet had to thank his intuition for that. When he first met Nabe, he immediately knew something was off about her. A death stare was present every time he looked at her. Not only that, her acting skills can be easily seen through if one sees past the fear.

Her sudden appearance was also questionable. A mage who barely looks she is 20 years old and can cast a higher tier of magic than himself. Of course, there were other humans prodigies around the world like her, but something else bothered him.

The fact that her name had only recently came up.

Alaric has been trained and taught in countless schools over the decades and never heard of those names. There was no way they had gotten that powerful without proper training. With those facts, Alaric could only think she and the famous Momon are frauds. They didn't directly say it when he went spying on them, but if that was true, then the rewards he'll get are endless. The kingdom offers a large sum of gold if you find a well-known criminal.

All his life, he has been living in poverty. Even now, he is still poor because he usually spends all his money on equipment. And yes, he does have some friends who were nobles, but not even them would forever financially support him. Thus, with this opportunity to get rich. Who would not waste this chance?

Perhaps all of the adventurers here, but not himself.

He'll use the money to live a peaceful life in the capital or live in the wealthiest city of the Slane Theocracy. It'll be a worthwhile experience. After this, he can leave his teammates behind.

He would also be able to buy the best equipment to beat that other Adamantite adventurer in a duel too. Therefore, this was the perfect opportunity.

And once Nabe and Momon are in jail, perhaps he'll volunteer to do the torturing. It'll be slow and painful, he never done it himself, but he always imagined doing it in person. The tools he'll use will be endless. It would be a notable experience for him. But first, he has to catch them.

It would be easy. Nabe is a fake, that what Alaric thinks, it'll be easy to beat her, there's no way someone like her can cast such high tier magic at that age.

Even if it is true, there is still a possibility the rumors could ruin their reputation. He always loved doing that.

The low-life mage called Nabe, Alaric couldn't wait to exploit her and Momon. It was very unfair that they were promoted so quickly after a week of adventuring. It took Alaric almost his entire prime to get here. Therefore, as their seniors, Alaric will show the correct way of how things work here.

Yes, he plans to ruin her reputation in front of everyone here. However, since he held the title of being an adventurer, he would be kicked out if he was found guilty.

That's why he plans on ruining Nabe's reputation before that occurs.

But not without help.

In the table, Alaric was sitting outside for breakfast; he retold his plan to his entire team. However, the only powerful ones were himself and a warrior named Arthur.

There was a purple hair archer who had the strength of a gold ranker and a platinum-ranked thief. However, he could not count on their help if Nabe was indeed as strong as they say, but that is unlikely.

To their information, Nabe is only a mage, only experienced in the arts of magic and nothing else. She does carry a blade around her, but witnesses never state she ever uses it. From this, Jet foolishly concluded Nabe was terrible at close combat.

But it was logical. Most mages had terrible physical capabilities. If Fludal, the most mighty human mage, were to fight a platinum adventurer without magic, he might lose the fight.

Now imaged him facing off against a team of Mithril adventurers without anything but a sword. That is what Alaric pictured how he'll beat Nabe. First, he'll make Nabe confess she and Momon were taking advantage of the government system for adventurers and then force her to a duel and make her admit she not as powerful as everyone says she is.

Everyone would then shame them, and he will be called a hero.

Alaric smiled. It was full proof, it was simple, and many wouldn't even call this a plan.

But it will work.

As long as no one interrupted them, it will work. During peak hours in the cafe, they'll challenge Nabe to a fight and humiliate her.

They still need to do more prepping, but once this was done, everything will be complete.

"Alaric, are you sure this they are frauds?"

Arthur stood up as he said those words. He is the strongest of the group. Alaric had to say he would lose a regular fight against him. That was the reason he had to get him on his side. Once that happens, the other two would follow.

Therefore, he slammed his hand on the table.

"Are you still questioning me, Arthur?"

Alaric then shoved several notes on the table, they were sitting on. Each of them had information for every mission Momon and Nabe had been involved in.

"Is it not a coincidence that almost all of the adventurer groups involved with Momon and Nabe were killed?"

Alaric placed a map of the Re-Estize Kingdom and continued telling his evidence.

"And not to mention, after they became Mithril adventurers, another group involved with them were killed in battle against a vampire."

Arthur lowered his shoulders.

"Truth to be told, you do sound right,"

Alaric smiled at those words. It was a good thing, Arthur, and the others lack common sense.

"Doesn't it? It is even more suspicious there is no other information about them before they became adventurers. Isn't it unusual that such powerful people to have never been mentioned until now?"

"Yes, it does."

"Then why are you still questioning me?"

"We still need more information."

"That's why we are looking for her maid. Did Billion find that child who is serving Nabe yet?

"She's right there, sir."

A little girl was staring at Alaric's face. One would not notice the maid they were looking for if they were not paying attention. This was due to the child wearing commoner's clothing and not the uniforms the servants wore here.

It was also due to the fact they did not expect to find the child maid so soon.

"Child," Alaric said, holding out 5 silver coins to the girl, "You're the caretaker of the adventurer Nabe right? Tell me what you know about her."

The maid suddenly shook her head.

"Sorry, but based on our terms of services, we cannot share personal information about our clients."

Alaric leaned forward and placed a hand on the kid's shoulders.

"You dislike her, don't you?"

The child stumped back. Using intimidating was useful against those who are weak-willed. It was an ordinary skill among those who worked in the underground world to get information.

Alaric learned the skill through years of experience. Yet it appeared he still need to improve on that.

"I do not."

"I've seen you with that magic-caster, you know she is a fake."

There was no response, the child simply turned her face and stayed silent while time passed by.

Alaric continued to pressure the kid. Yet she did not break. Alaric gazed his eyes back at the window and smiled. The child wondered why and stepped closer again to find out.

And she did.

"What are you planning to do with Miss Nabe?"

"You're not on our side, aren't you?"

The girl stood up calmly, but obviously staggering, bowed to the adventurers.

"I am a servant of this mansion, I only act of what my boss orders me to, now please reconsider the actions you are doing,"

"That mage is a coward and deserves to be punished."

The only woman from the group said it. Her appearance was that of purple hair, but her importance is invalid. At least to Nabe.

There was a sharp bang of metal. The group turned and realized they were under assault. This was the first time bandits ever appeared. But in reality, there was no bandit, but just a single over level mage with a blunt sword.

It took them a few seconds to realize Nabe was responsible. In less than a second, she'd casually knocked out a gold-ranked adventurer.

Alaric staggered, but remained calm, their archer was weak anyway.

But what amazed Alaric was how in the world Nabe able to hear them.

The answer would come soon for him, but for now, those words provoked her.

"Your services aren't needed here."

Arthur was the one who said it.

His sword is raised above his chest, and his face was calm as a blue moon. But regardless, that did not matter. Nabe was still standing on the giant purple-haired archer, looking at each one of them.

 _"Tck, does she think we would be intimidated by her?_

Alaric raised his staff and pointed it towards Nabe. Arthur lowered his weapon and realized his ally's plan.

"Please forgive both of my team mate's matters, they were simply drinking too much this morning, and I would appreciate it if you would step off my friend's body."

Nabe paused for a moment and then glanced at him.

"I'll forgive you once you lower your weapon."

Usually, one would follow that request to keep the peace around this area. Alaric was a mad-man, but no fool. Yet he still aimed his weapon at Nabe.

Her eyebrows went up. She stepped off the woman and walked towards him.

"Say, I heard about the countless achievements you and the great Momon achieved."

"Yes, if you wish to compliment us, then do it more properly."

Alaric almost laughed. Did she say that after beating up that gold rank adventurer?

"That is not what I meant. I hate beating around the bush, so I will get to the point… I wish to have a spar with you."

"Oh, why is that?"

"Besides us, no other adventurer here would be able to fight a powerful monster such as the one that was described in the job description. So simply, if one was to attack. I would like to see if you would be able to help protect this property if push comes to shove."

Alaric pointed at his knocked out teammate.

"We wouldn't want word of this mess go out to the public, would we?"

Did that adventurer think nothing bad would happen after knocking out one of his teammates? Not that he cared the least of his ally's condition. It only made him consider how thoughtless this mage was.

And it looked like she realized that too. She pointed her unshelved blade at Alaric.

"All of you can duel me at the same time."

 _"What?"_

He must have heard that wrong. There was no way that mage said that. Even if she did, that must've been a scare tactic to make them run away.

"Can you say that again?"

"If you wish to test my strength, all of you can fight me at once."

"Then, we will go by your request."

Alaric smirked, there was no way he'll run away now. Only he will be needed for this spar. He signaled Arthur and Billion to wait by the sideline, and he took his stance.

This was going better than he thought. In the worst-case scenario, he and Nabe would have got in an all-out brawl. This was bad for the fact that if he lost, the title of his rank would be stripped from the point Nabe was actually real.

But since this was a formal duel. Even if he lost, no punishment would occur. Therefore that meant Alaric had achieved an almost "win-win" situation.

However, there was a feeling that the adventurer Nabe was not lying. If it is true, she has the ability to take all of them out at once, then he better finish this fight fast. But first, he looked around the area.

There were some groups of adventurers staring at them.

 _"Dammit"_

He was hoping that more people would show up to witness that Nabe is a weakling, but this would do.

"[Flame barrier]"

A wall of fire instantly surrounded Nabe. Alaric did not hesitate to act when the duel has not officially started yet and decided to dash out all of his trap spells.

"[Fireball, Earth barrier]"

The earth then rose. With the smoke being produced by the flames and for the rocks trapping it inside, Nabe would suffocate if she did not get out of there. Now he didn't use his higher tier spells just in case if she was indeed a fake and only an average human. Using a 3rd tier attack spells would be too much and instead used the weaker version of the flame and earth spells.

"Hey Alaric, it looks like you were right, it looks like she can't break through that barrier."

Arthur said those words, and each and everyone one of them smiled.

However, that only lasted for a few seconds.

The barriers were broken, and Alaric found himself on the floor, knocked out cold by the force of her unshelved weapon.

 **Part 2**

Kill all of them. That was what Narberal wanted to do.

But she didn't.

She stepped off the Alaric's body and raised her sword.

"Tell me why your purple hair friend is spreading rumors about Momon and me. If you do, I'll spare all of you, "

Generally, if they were smart, one would surrender. But human nature tends to bind them. That race of inferior beings is greedy, and that will cost them.

"I...I know your secret. You are not actually a mage caster. You're only a servant of Momon. He's doing all the work, isn't he? You only follow him around, so both of you get paid additional fees."

The tallest one said that word. There was no response. Narberal's eyes grew dull, and her sword rose.

 _"So these were the guys following me yesterday,"_ she muttered softly, Narberal was still standing and wanted to kill him. These humans needed to be killed. They were spreading rumors.

But something in her mind told her not to. It was Lord Ainz's orders.

She signed.

Narberal wasn't annoyed by the adventurers in front of her, but for the 9 people behind them. Normally there wouldn't be this many people outside, but since there was a duel, more and more humans started to show up here.

Adamantite adventurer vs. a Mythril group. That was the word that brought them there. It wasn't long before more people started coming. So much so the audience created a circle around her and the group.

Narberal looked around. She was trapped inside the circle and still annoyed. The tallest one saw Narberal moving eyes and smirked again.

"You're...you're unlucky. Now everyone will know you're a fake."

 _"Didn't that bug witness me knock both of his teammates in one hit?"_

Of course, they did. Even a fool would be able to realize that. The reason the last three were still standing was likely due to the fact they could not back down. It could be because of a warrior's pride or that they were still trying to blackmail her.

But those reasons did not matter to Narberal once they're dead.

"If you're so certain I am not as strong as you speak, then why not attack me at this moment like your mage caster?" She then brought her blade out, "If you assault me now, I may even make this less demanding for you. In fact, I won't utilize any spells. I will only use my blade to beat you."

The crowd then gasped. The fight was going to start again.

"Then… suit yourself, once my group and I win, I'll have your group be shamed and rot in prison!"

That was the last sentence from the tallest one.

Before long, Narberal saw the other warrior get behind the man named Arthur.

She was about to criticize them for their distasteful manners, but the group charged at her before she could say anything. Surprisingly, they were quite skilled in their teamwork. There were five people in the group. Narberal had already taken down two of them. Now it was only the melee users, who were left.

Usually, this would be a terrible matchup, similar to Lord Ainz vs. Shalltear. Three warriors vs. a single magic caster would be a terrible matchup. Well, that was only if they were on the same level. As one could tell, Narberal had a massive level gap, but she still couldn't lower her guard.

Therefore, in the event of the attack, she searched around the circular space she had to work with. It was not much, but it was enough. Narberal knew she didn't have much skill in martial arts, but her physical strength alone would be enough to beat a few humans… hopefully.

First, she dodged several incoming attacks from the three melee fighters. She then parried one of the attacks from the unnamed thief and proceeded to strike him.

The sword missed. He retreated, and another warrior came in with an attack well coordinated with martial arts skills. One by one, he went all out with his combination of attacks.

Narberal couldn't count how many skills the warrior used. But one by one, she countered his attacks. Even with the enchantment of the skills, the warrior could not keep up with her.

But he was still holding his ground. This adventurer, despite only being Mithril ranked, was on par with an Orichalcum adventurer. Narberal estimated her physical strength without any equipment or buffs to around that level.

But since she was a magic caster, she did not have as much swordsmanship skills. Thus, under typical situations, Narberal would lose if she was to fight a full-fledged warrior as Nabe in melee combat.

Yet, in this situation, she was still beating his man in terms of skill-based combat. He probably relied on his brute strength rather than the art of swordsmanship. Well, because of that, he likely specialized in a different class, such as being the tank or priest.

Yet, if the other men were also Orichalcum rank or higher, that might lead to a bad situation if she continued to only fight as "Nabe."

As a result, it would be wise to end this fight fast.

In a moment of weakness, Narberal disarmed and smashed the warrior down to the ground.

Arthur then fiercely shot arrows at Narberal, but it was useless. She simply dodged and even grabbed one of the arrows in midair. Since he was a warrior, his accuracy was not as good as a trained archer, and he soon realized that.

He dropped the bow and charged at her. She recalled the man using Ability Boost and Body Strengthening to enchant his power. It would be bothersome if she were to get a hit. Narberal lifted her sword to parry Arthur's attack, but the man bypassed her sword and was on the path of hitting her.

But to his fate, he forgot she had another weapon in her hand. Before he could react to it, Narberal used the arrow she grabbed and nailed it to his knee and proceeded to look down at him.

The other unnamed warriors saw what Narberal was going to do. Her eyes. That gave it away. If Arthur's legs weren't injured, he would have the best chance of stopping the spell. Instead, all three of them could only watch. None of them could make it in time.

Narberal placed her hands out in front of her. It was released. Across the ground, sparks of lighting snarled around them, engulfing the three. They didn't have time to scream.

It was over. They were still alive, but it was over. Narberal defeated the group of four. It took a magic spell to knock them out. It was only a low tier spell. She could have likely taken them out without using it.

But regardless, Narberal stunned the crowd. Soon, they praise how powerful she was, but Narberal only ignored them as she went inside. There was no need to finish them.

In reality, she wanted to kill the humans. It would have been so easy. So easy for her to grab those fools by the neck and snap their heads off. But she knew she still had to keep her cool.

"Right, save it for later," she said softly, but not weakly.

 **Part 3**

It was only when Nabe left when everything turned back to normal. It wasn't long before the crowd of adventurers left the yard and continued to eat in the building, except for the Mithril group who aggregate her.

Aqua stared at the group that was defeated by the mage. She couldn't stop staring at them. Before long, the girl went near them to assist them with their injuries. To her surprise, Nabe had beaten the men to shame. The girl saw the look in their eyes. It was not good. The group lost their pride.

The crowd thought of nothing of the event, Adamantite adventurers were superior to Mithril adventurers. That was no question to ask.

But Aqua felt indifferent. That mage caster was undoubtedly an adventurer deserving of the title, one of the strongest heroes of the Re-Estize Kingdom.

"I don't believe it, Mis. Nabe is so young, and she is able to defeat every one of you guys," Aqua said, "And the best part is... she isn't even a fighter, she is a mage."

"You're damn right, she isn't a fake after all," one of the injured warriors said.

"A fake? Was that the whole reason for this duel?"

The man who was named Arthur grinned his teeth and lowered his head to apologize to the child.

"It was our team leader who wanted to fight her. He is that mage caster over there, and his name is Alaric."

"That scary man?"

Well, he was not that scary anymore. Arthur pointed to the left, and the mage was face-first into the dirt.

"You are lucky this was a "formal" duel. Otherwise, you may have been fired from this mission."

"Yes, yes, I know, now can you please call a healer for us?"

"Mr. Smith may not be happy about this."

She looked up, and Mr. Smith was watching the entire fight from the second-floor window. These Mithril adventurers won't be getting off so easily.

 _"Yeas,"_ The girl better start healing them before she gets scolded.

The girl did first-aid to patch up the group. Every servant here knew how to the basic procedures and then called for a healing caster. Everyone only suffered minor concussion besides Arthur.

And now everything was back to normal. The child had almost forgotten the time. Miss Nabe would typically be a guard duty, but knowing her. That mage was likely in the room, translating the books.

 _"I wonder if she had gotten the hang of reading our language."_

The child looked back at the injured adventurers. It was half-true that Miss Nabe was fake. Her reading skills are terrible, and her personality is unfriendly.

Yet her strength is not a lie. That mage caster must have come from a foreign country.

And thus, her questions grew greater.

It wouldn't hurt to ask some. At least that was what the child thought.

In reality, it was dangerous, and in truth, the girl only wanted to meet the mage again to thank her for defending her from losing her job.

And because of that, It only took a few minutes before the child appeared at the door.

 **Part 4**

Papers were scattered around the desk. Narberal was sitting, translating all of the works with the use of a book. It was quite useful. She had to admit the child was very skilled in her "writemanship."

The maid usually stayed up late at night with her, but she couldn't be with her all the time. Therefore, the maid gave her a small dictionary to look up unknown words.

Certainly, if one did not know anything about this world's language, it would be useless, but since Narberal knew enough, it was almost child play to translate the new world's language.

And once this is over, the job would be almost complete. Narberal has been here for about a week now, and surprisingly, things have not gone to hell yet.

Until today. Narberal was now calm, but could not forget those humans who challenged her. She wondered how Lord Ainz does it. Since he is a supreme being, Narberal may not be able to reach that understanding.

But she is still willing to try as it is an order from him.

She had made only small baby steps, but it was still progress. Narberal almost praised herself for resisting to kill those humans and for teaching them where they stood in society. The only reason she had not, was because of the fact that the public had witnessed her brutal personality.

Yes, it was a "formal" duel, but nobles loved to change the formal statements to what exactly happened. If Mr. Smith wanted to, he might be able to say that the adventurer Nabe had started a brawl with the innocent adventurers. And since those Mithril adventurers hated her, there was no way they would disagree with that story.

Narberal wondered why she didn't think of this sooner. This event would crush her and Lord Ainz's reputation.

And now there was a knock on her door. It must have been the employer. He is going to fire her. Narberal gasped. No, there is a chance she may come out innocent in this mess.

Even if Mr. Smith changes the story, there were many witnesses to the fight. Even though many adventurers are scared of nobles, once a formal investigation goes through all the witnesses' statements, they would surely find a loophole in their accounts and find Narberal innocent.

But again, the worst-case scenario may happen. Narberal signed, she realized how much training she had to do to catch up to Lord Ainz's intelligence.

If he were here, Lord Ainz would have never gotten in a fight in the first place. In fact, he may have befriended all the bugs here and make them his slaves for the Tomb of Nazarick at the same time.

If only Narberal had a peek to what intelligences her Lord had.

For now, Narberal will try and resolve this issue and message Lord Ainz if she is unable to do so.

"May I come in, Miss Nabe!"

It was a child's voice. That was unexpected. Had she come to bring the news to her?

Narberal opened the door, and the maid child looked at her in silence. Narberal frowned. Since nobody else was talking, she decided to ask.

"What happened to those Mithril adventurers?"

"Oh, don't worry about them, Mr. Smith knows it is not your fault and will punish them."

That was a relief, Narberal did not have to waste Lord Ainz's time now.

To celebrate the small event, Narberal closed the door and sat down. Since her job was almost complete, Narberal grabbed her personal bag of belongings.

 _"No, I should first write down the mistakes I made to make sure I never do them again."_

Granted, she was about to do that until she saw the maid still inside the room. Why was she still here?

"Mis. Nabe," the child first said, "That was pretty cool of you."

Narberal looked at the child, "The duel? What's so extraordinary about beating up a few weak bugs? They are only low level-."

"Yes, that was cool too, but I am not talking about those Mithril adventurers. What I mean is.. the thing that happened this morning."

Narberal knew what she was talking about. She only defended Aqua so she wouldn't have to deal with having another servant in her room.

"Can you stop interrupting me? For a maid, you have no self-control over yourself."

"Pardon me, but I was there at the library when you were talking to my boss. My co-workers usually scold me for my mistakes."

 _"Mistakes."_

That was a word Narberal does not like to hear. It was the word that causes the lectures. And that was the reason there was a slight pause between the two.

Aqua looked at Narberal's cardboard face. It looked blank.

"Miss Nabe?" the child responded.

"You only wish to serve Mr. Smith… correct?"

That was not a question Aqua had been expecting.

"Right," the child said, "He's the only reason why I'm still alive… He took me in."

"How long have you been here then?"

"About two months, My caretaker left me here, and I have not seen him since."

"So, you work for Mr. Smith because you don't have anywhere else to go?"

"No," she responded.

That was a lie.

"Mr. Smith, he's the only person left I know. Because of this, I will follow any orders he gives me."

"Ah, I see."

It was quite surprising. The child's situation is similar to hers. A bug cannot be compared to the beings that are gods, but the main idea of their case still stood. Lord Ainz was the only Supreme Being of Nazarick that had stayed with her and the others.

Perhaps that was a similar situation to the maid child.

"Since you are loyal to him. Would you do anything he tells you to do?"

"Yes,"

"Even if he orders you to kick me out, would you do it?"

"Well, Nabe... I don't know,"

"Then you don't understand what it means to be a true servant."

"Well, how do you know what it takes then?"

"Because I am with Momon, my... ally."

Narberal had to pause for a moment. Usually, she gets a little too excited when talking about any of the supreme beings of Nazarick.

"No, just think of it as seniority."

The girl then looked at Nabe with bright eyes.

"Oh, I see what you mean. It's like when an older sibling protects a younger one, are you talking about that type of relationship?"

Narberal didn't know what to say. She didn't want to ruin the identity she and Momon created and simply followed the flow of the conversation.

"Yes…."

The child smiled, the little maiden girl thought Narberal was the coolest person she ever laid eyes on. But Narberal didn't notice that, or even if she did, nothing would make her know the reason why.

"Miss Nabe," she said in a light voice, "Do you think you can tell me more about this world?"

"No, I need to work, now scramble."

"Wait, I will help you with your work,"

The little girl pulled her chair to the end of the table and grabbed one of the books from the pile.

"You're still having trouble reading… correct?"

Narberal nodded slightly.

"Then this is the perfect opportunity to learn more about our language."

Aqua pulled out a small pen from her pockets.

"And besides, Just think of this as an extra lesson of the tutoring services I was providing you earlier. You can read out the words in the books, and I will write down the basic information of it so you can transfer the information to another notebook. Once we get done with that," The girl then paused, "Can you tell me more about the world and what you know?"

 _"More?"_ Narberal thought. She had to question this. Why more? Didn't that maid know more about the world than herself due to being a native resident? She then stood and took the book Aqua had gotten and opened it.

"Alright slug, I will tell you more,"

The little girl's face jumped in excitement. Her idol just accepted her request. And Narberal just accepted the fact that she'll have to deal with the child. She should have told the kid she could not teach her.

But she needed the help. She was running out of translation scrolls. That was the reason she accepted the request.

* * *

Throughout the night, the two worked together on the task. However, it took longer than usual. Narberal still could not read reasonably well, but with the help of Aqua. She slowly developed more as a reader. Thus, once nightfall reached. Instead of working on the task Mr. Smith gave Narberal, Aqua was now simply teaching Narberal several forms of literal and writing.

And it was going quite well when you compare Narberal's reading skills from a few weeks ago. Of course, it was not excellent, but there was an improvement.

"And the huge…... object named Halley's Comet... only comes…. once in every….100 hundred years, leaving a path of icy rocks."

Narberal signed. She did say some words incorrectly, but she did finally read a paragraph without having Aqua stepping in and helping her.

"Nicely done, Miss Nabe, but did you know this comet will come by again in just 2 weeks?" Aqua said, "In fact, the best place to see it is at the mountain near the Dwarf kingdom, it's a place where you can get the one best magic weapons."

"The Dwarf Kingdom?…. Are there any weapons there with the ability to ignore the durability of any object?"

"Well, I don't know about that, but I heard the kingdom creates one of the best craftsmanship you can find, so I think they could have something like that."

Narberal suddenly thought of something, She needed to call Lord Ainz immediately after learning this information.

"Aqua, It is late at night, we shall continue this tomorrow."

"I understand, Miss Nabe. I will see you later."

She then closed the door behind her when Aqua left the room and then activated the skill [message] to Lord Ainz. It didn't take long for him to reply.

{Message}

"Momon, I may have gained information where that man named…. Timothy got his weapon, I believe he may have gotten it in the Dwarf kingdom, somewhere in the Azerlisia Mountains."

Narberal had to recollect herself for a moment. She nearly forgot that man's name.

"Good work, Nabe. As expected, I knew you would figure it out."

"Thank you, Momon, but what should you do now?"

"I will look into the problem later, right now I am finishing up my mission,"

"Understood Momon, was it successful?"

"It was, the beast guarding the flowers were stronger than the average mortals who live here, but you shouldn't worry about it, there was no problem. After this, I plan on going to a training mission with Cocytus."

"A training mission?"

"Ah, not for me, but for Cocytus,"

"I see," Narberal said, reopening several books.

She didn't want to waste any more of Lord Ainz's time.

"Ah before you close this," Lord Ainz said," I have another task for you, I need you to go to Re-Estize to deliver some crucial messages for the Golden Princess and a noble named Marquis Raeven will give you the letters,"

"The Golden Princess? Lord Ainz, pardon me, but do you think I am worthy of doing such a task like this? If I make a mistake, This will surely ruin your reputation."

"Narberal, Do not worry, If you need help, you can ask Sebas. He should be there in the kingdom's capital. If you need his help, try not to give any attention that you're related to him, and make sure you act your best,"

"All right Lord Ainz, once I complete the current mission I am In, I will complete this task,"

{Message out}

* * *

Note: so from now on, every now and then, I may list some changes from Overlord's lore to this story. The reason I did not do this earlier was that It may lead to spoilers xd, and that is also the reason why I will not be telling you all the differences.

So here are a few significant changes.

Jet exist. If you have never heard of him, he's basically a meme in the web novel of Overlord. However, in this story, he is much older, and he is kinda decent at using magic. In addition, he is crazier and is more of a hypocrite. You could say this is basically what would happen to Jet if Lord Ainz or Arche never met him.

Jet's group does not exist in the light novel/web novel.

Translation scrolls exist in this story, but not in the canon Overlord story. Basically, transition scrolls are a replacement for the lack of translation eyeglasses in this story.


	8. Chapter 7

Yesterday, a fight broke out. It was between one Mithril group and a mage.

Aqua only remembered a few of their names. One of them was named Arthur. He was the leader of the group, and there was another person who was named Alaric.

But besides that, the child would be blunt.

Honestly, she didn't think Nabe would be able to last 10 seconds in a fight with them. Even though she is Adamantite ranked, a mage fighting in close combat was a death sentence to most.

But then she defeated them, it looked as if she wasn't even trying. If Aqua didn't know her, she would have been scared to death.

This was because her first impression of Nabe started off badly.

Aqua thought Nabe was a rude and overconfident woman. Whenever she tried to help her, Miss Nabe would always dismiss her or called the child an insect. Her opinion of the mage went even lower when she found out the adventurer couldn't read or write.

She must have been a fraud, that women almost killed her to prevent the child from spreading rumors.

But when Nabe found out the child read the same book as she did, Miss Nabe sudden got calmer, and in those few moments of peace, Aqua unexpectedly spent most of the nights with her staying up late teaching her how to write.

Because of that, the child wasn't able to wake up as early as she usually did and ended up missing breakfasts.

The cooks were making her favorite dish this week too.

She thought it couldn't get worse, but then one day, she found her boss talking to Nabe into firing her.

It was almost unquestionable the child would be thrown out. Her ability to be a servant was poor. If she were to get fired, the purpose of her being here would be invalid.

The child would be left alone again. Her big brother died a few months ago, and her caretaker hasn't been seen for over a month.

Because of how Nabe treated everyone here, the child thought she did not care for anyone. She was so rude and overconfident.

Aqua almost consider her to be a bully.

But then Nabe defended her, not in a brilliant way, but it still caused the butler to run for his money. Aqua almost laughed at that scene. It seems there was more to that crazy mage after all.

The mage caster must've noticed how the child viewed her before, but she still defended her even though she must have felt uncomfortable.

The child felt ashamed for finding her to be scary.

She is the child's savior, a person who utmost deserves respect.

Even If they'll never see each other after they depart, the child hoped to serve her rightly as a servant, and maybe, if she is lucky, one day, the child will find a way to get back.

But first, she'll have to train.

And that was the reason she was at the door.

 **Part 2**

There was a slight change in Aqua.

It wasn't noticeable, but Narberal saw it. Over the next few days, the girl seemed to always be excited to talk to her, and luckily that didn't affect her daily schedule.

Until later in the night, Aqua asked Narberal to meet her by the front entrance of the mansion. Obviously, she disagreed. Narberal had to keep the promise she made to the girl, but ever since the recent activity in the villa, she wanted to play it safe in the building for the time being.

"Come on, Miss Nabe. It's only a short walk outside the building."

"Perhaps if I were told what this was all about, I wouldn't feel so inclined to resist."

"We're just going near the fields by the mansion. Now come on, you promised."

Narberal, still using the translation scrolls, shook her head and gave some of the books to the kid to translate them. She was still in her room, reviewing the last of the books on the table.

"Slug," Narberal said at one point, "Translate them."

"Yes, Miss Nabe."

The child soon left the room.

 **Part 3**

Aqua's mission had failed. Because of the recent events involving Miss Nabe, that child wanted to become someone more reliable. But that couldn't be done without doing any training.

So instead, once the time after midnight fell, the little child was ready to begin it.

She went outside of the servant's area after translating several books and to the outside area. In the bag she slipped out of her room, Aqua pulled out a blanket that resembled the likes of Nabe's cloak.

The child smirked as she put it on. She now looked more like a magic caster.

A book was then pulled out of the bag, and the child began to open it. The pages contained works of first and zero tier magic spells. The child found them in the library one day, but was never interested in them.

But seeing Miss Nabe use magic, her opinion of their use started to change.

That's why she wanted Nabe to come outside to teach her. She was good at self-learning, but there was a problem. Aqua did not have any idea how magic worked. She had heard it had taken years for talented people to use 2nd or 3rd tier magic. But the discouragement did not stop the child from trying.

"Perhaps I have a weird talent like my older brother to learn fast."

The child signed, she would have developed that trait sooner if that was the case.

That was why she started off with one of the most straightforward spells in the book; zero tier magic. One that helped in everyday tasks or can be said to be only simple hand tricks.

Aqua stood up excitedly and looked at the book again while on foot.

She wanted to try changing the appearance of a letter to a number. The child brought out several note cards and stretched out her hand to perform the steps written in the book to activate the spell.

However, the cards had not changed. The child signed.

She began to read more from the book.

It told the child that using magic required intense focus, during which the body could not move. If so, the movement would disrupt one's sense of balance and make concentration difficult for the magic caster.

The child's mouth opened wide and turned the book back to page one. Her first mistake was skipping the start of the book. Apparently, you have to know what magic is before you can start using it.

But in the book, there was no accurate explanation of what magic was. The child guessed it was merely a force that was apart of nature here.

It confused the child, and that was the only thing she could come up, for the moment. For now, she continued reading the book. It took her about an hour to read the first dozen pages. She kept rereading the essential parts and never dared to go ahead without understanding the basics.

It was a good thing the full moon was bright in the sky. Otherwise, she would've had to go inside. All servants are forced to get enough sleep so they could function at peak conditions. Thus, if she were to read the book inside, she would surely get caught by someone or by her roommates.

Well, her roommates wouldn't care if she was staying up at night. It was simply Aqua would be causing too much noise for them to go to sleep. That was why this was the best choice. The library would be closed, and the study rooms would be locked. Going outside had the best chance for the child not getting caught.

 _"Oh, no."_

However, it seems that her moment of recklessness of staying up could not last. The child saw small sparks of light a dozen meters from her. Were there some adventurers on guard duty? Monsters such as goblins had night vision, and attacking in the dark would be a smart thing for them to do.

If they were watching out for them. Aqua should go back inside. She would rather face punishment rather than death. Therefore, she took off her cloak and ran to the light.

It was Mr. Smith, behind him were the Mithril adventurers she saw the other day. Maybe they were on a special mission. Aqua thought that until they went into an old looking shed.

She has never been inside there. Only the highest-ranked servants could go inside there. That was why Aqua was slightly confused about why these adventurers were going in.

Well, the reason was likely important, and the reason was probably because of the events that had recently happened.

 _"Oh, boy,"_ she wondered. The child really wanted to see what was going to happen. But all of them were already inside the shed. She knew she shouldn't go eavesdrop of them. That would be rude.

But ignoring that Mr. Smith dropped his keys on the floor wouldn't.

While Mr. Smith was going through the doors, he dropped one of his keys. Losing a specific item may cause stress in the future. It would be best for the child to return it. And the door was still open. Therefore, the child should return it at this moment.

The child smiled, this was the perfect excuse. While it was uncalled for the child to be doing this, she went over the door and made sure not to make any sound. She was in her usual outfit. A simple white button-up shirt and a green skirt. She would surely get caught if one saw her, especially since she was not wearing a maid's outfit.

Even though she was simply returning a lost item to Mr. Smith, she might be in trouble for going outside without permission.

But the punishment wouldn't be that bad. Aqua had those thoughts as she stared at the inner walls. Inside was more prominent than she thought.

Stairs were leading underground, and they were made out of stone. That included the basement's walls. That was a strange design choice. The outer shell of the shed was made out of wood.

Unless one was trying to hide something here, Aqua couldn't see another reason for the design. Maybe this was the place Mr. Smith held his treasure.

Yes, that was it. It made sense, no one would want to put their treasure in a prominent place. Putting it in an old-looking shed would make people think there was no way anyone would hide something valuable there.

 _"Huh?"_

But as she continued going down the stairs, Aqua saw a meeting room. The child was expected to see a vault, but guessed wrong. There were two doors. One on the left and one to the right.

The right door was open, and Aqua peeked down the stairs to take a look. Since it was dark, she assumed the shadows would cover her appearance and found two men inside there.

 _"Where did the adventurers go?"_

The room showed no indication of holding more people. There were only a large round table and two gentlemen sitting there.

One was Mr. Smith. Aqua did not know who the other man was. His armor looked as if it was made by the best blacksmiths, and his spear created a strange aura that the child only experienced a few times in her life.

She wished she could get a closer look at him. The person was wearing a helmet, which made it hard to judge their gender. But that would be solved soon.

"The meeting shall begin soon."

Mr. Smith was talking to the warrior.

 _"The meeting is going to start soon?"_ Aqua leaned forward to listen better. She heard the armored person spoke. It was a man's voice, but she could not decipher the meaning.

She got closer to them. The child was still on the staircase and could not see the Mithril adventurers. On the other door, no noises were coming out of it.

They were likely inside that room. Mr. Smith and the man started going through the unopened door outside that meeting room. Aqua carefully went up the stairs to not get caught. She still wanted to follow through.

That speared warrior looked to be the son of a very rich noble. Mr. Smith was likely going to task them something very classified.

That was not uncommon for him to do. The child would often hear that Mr. Smith would always go in a secure place, so no one would hear his plans. Well, its likely everyone who had power did that. It was to make sure no one steals or spies on the valued information that is about to be exchanged.

Since it was likely going to be that case, the child started to walk back up the stairs. It would be rude to eavesdrop on them. But again, it would also be a loss if Mr. Smith found out he had lost his keys.

It was likely he would be able to spot it if the child left on the floor, but she figured it would be better to leave it on a wooden table.

Yes, It was also an excuse to eavesdrop on them. But Aqua couldn't tell them that and headed towards the other room.

Once inside, there was a carriage. It looked costly and well-made. It immediately got the child's attention. Horses were not present near it. The child left the keys near a table and walked over it to touch the surface. The child could tell it was made out of expensive wood. She walked to the back and glanced at the container. There was only a sheet of wool covering the entry. It looks like the material was crafted by the best tailors around here.

 _"Why does Mr. Smith has so much expensive stuff around here?"_

No reasons could come up. Maybe this was simply a storage area for Mr. Smith. Yet she did not see anything in the lobby of the basement.

"Oh."

That was the reason there was a wagon here. All the stuff in the storage room was placed in here because Mr. Smith was going to transport all of his goods somewhere else.

The only question was how was he going to do that. Well, probably by the use of magic. Aqua didn't know too much about it, but there was likely a spell that could teleport a big object somewhere over a long distance.

Since that was likely the case, Aqua sightly wanted to take a peek at what was inside the wagon. And now that she thought about it, the spear warrior was probably here to conduct a deal that relates to that wagon.

That only served more of a reason for the child to take a look at what was inside. It was probably all filled with unique goods that commoners could only dream of getting.

 _"Huh?"_

A body of a dead servant was there.

The child stared at it, and the eyes looked back. No words were spoken between them. The skin was pale, and the limbs were dislocated. Aqua knew the servant who was present there.

She covered her mouth and glanced at the floor. There were sheets of paper with a list of names. All of them were from people she knew, and almost every one of them was crossed out beside a few.

"My name."

The child saw her name. What was her name doing on that list? Her limbs grew numb, and her stomach was engrossing in pain.

She did not realize her next movements. Maybe it was merely survival instincts or the will of someone else. Aqua hid under the carriage.

Under typical situations, the child would have never heard the footsteps. It could have been because she has a unique talent or from the fact that the child was under an adrenaline rush. That did not matter.

Aqua saw two men walk across from her.

 **Part 4**

Mr. Smith opened the door for the guest. The masked speared man leisurely went inside the meeting room and sat down on the nearest seat.

The guest manners were those of a noble's. But Mr. Smith could still see he needed more training. It was very unsuiting for one of the strongest warriors in their organization to act like this.

"You can take off your helmet now."

The speared man followed suit.

"Hm, you don't always have to act so formally."

"As the Black Scripture's 1st seated member, you should get into the habit of this."

Mr. Smith knew that he only recently became a seated member. Before, he was simply a candidate due to his young age. However, his intelligence and strength bypassed the age requirement to get in, and he immediately acquired the most honorable seat.

Yet, he was still naive of the world. The captain was even being trained in that while performing his duties. Thus, as one would think, he would have barely any free time to do anything else because of it.

"Besides those Mithril adventurers, did you find anyone else?"

"Not yet, you came a little too early. The capture doesn't start until the sun hits."

"Ah," The captain lowered his arms. A little miscalculation. He wasn't annoyed by that mistake, but was annoyed at the dead body in the other room. For the Slane Theocracy to better protect the future of their country, the nation needed more awaken Godkins or elite troops. That was why Mr. Smith was doing this capture. For them not being able to do the task immediately nearly made him upset.

But that was to be suspected. A person must reach several requirements to be able to survive.

"Were the servants too weak, or did they not fit your requirements?"

"Haha," Mr. Smith frowned, "You must have seen the dead bodies. So far, none made the prerequisites to even use Blood Bane."

"You were using your own servants?"

"Just the weak ones. It's better off to use them since the survival rate of the experiment is so low."

"Was the child servant useless then?"

"Correct," Mr. Smith said those words in an instant. "I have not used her for the experiment yet."

"I see, then the child was not the right one?"

He nodded, "I only took her because she reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago."

"You shouldn't pick someone based on your personal reasons."

"Hm, that's only your personal thinking. Because of my intuition, I was able to hire that Adamantite adventurer named Nabe, who may meet the requirements. It was quite expensive, but I was able to do it."

"Are you sure she meets the requirements?"

"Yes, In fact, I think she overqualified for them. She is also quite a beauty, and her strength surpasses gold-ranked adventurers despite being a mage. I'm sure she will fulfill the needs."

After Mr. Smith said that word, It was entirely silent, they did discuss a few more things, but once the conversation went downwards, both of them heard some footsteps coming in their direction.

"It seems that our prey has come," Mr. Smith said, "Mind if you can take care of it?"

The captain nodded and stood. He proceeded to go near the doors, and once they were open, a group of four men came raging in. It was the Mithril adventurer group, they were beaten up from all the battles they went through, but the group still looked sharp, strong enough to stand and fight to the death.

"Prepare yourself, Mr. Smith," Arthur said, struggling to stand, "you have betrayed your kingdom, and now you shall pay for your actions,"

Before the man could say another word, The captain swung his spear at Arthur and the three others who were with him.

Arthur and his other teammates managed to block the attack, but the recoil of the spear knocked both of them out. The remaining two, surprised by how fast the captain was, started attacking aimlessly, and they were outmatched. The attacks did nothing. The captain swung his fist into the remaining two. They fell just like the rest.

"It seems like my work is done, I will be taking these men off to the Black Scripture."

"Don't you want to kill that persistent child who was eavesdropping us?"

"I'm on a tight schedule. Tell the adventurers or your servants to kill that human. As the 1st seat of the Black Scripture. I have many duties to do. If you need help taking down that Adamantite adventurer, then use one of the summoning crystals you received in the meeting we last had."

The captain then walked out of the room and left Mr. Smith to himself.


	9. Chapter 8

Aqua knew her footsteps made a lot of noise. Running up the stairs created even more. Although she ran out of the basement as soon as those Mithril adventurers broke through the doors to conceal her movement and sound.

There was no guarantee those men would be able to last ten seconds.

Even if the child didn't get that cold stomach feeling, the fact that one man was so confident about taking on 4 Mithril adventurers at once.

It was an immediate warning that the speared warrior was on the level of Miss Nabe.

And Mr. Smith.

No, that was not him. It could not possibly be him.

The sweet voice of an old nobleman.

That couldn't possibly belong to a mass murderer.

But of course, it had to.

The child stumbled onto the grass floor. The sun was starting to rise, and the child almost vomited. She'd kept the picture of her fellow co-worker's body tucked away in her memory.

Now it came back to haunt her after the escape.

 _"Am I and the others just experiments for a project?"_

She overheard the statements said in that meeting. The names, the fact of the servants being used, and dying from a strange substance.

No, that was impossible. Yes, that was simply a human doll. There was no way Mr. Smith actually killed one or many other people.

But again, her name on the death list appeared in her memory.

That was a fact.

This was not simply a misunderstanding.

Mr. Smith will kill her.

The child repeated that statement in her mind. Aqua wanted to scream it out loud, but couldn't risk being heard by them.

 _"What should I do?_

It would be logical to immediately run and get help. However, emotions tend to blind one's critical thinking skills.

Especially if one is a child. Aqua was in a state of severe panic, but manage to sit straight up once again. It only because she had experienced similar events that the child could still go on.

She would not let it happen again.

The death of her older brother and the massacre of the slaves. She kept telling herself that her elder brother would not be so foolish to let that happen again.

Therefore, the adventurers. Aqua had to warn them. No, she had to request for their help, including the servants. With their combined strength, her life and the others would be saved.

But again, that would be betraying her only guardian, the person who'd been taking care of her.

No, he was not. The child told herself that.

Mr. Smith was a murder; he is not a family member nor a relative. He had not taken care of her, nor taught her anything.

 _"He is the enemy."_

She recalled her older brother's words. Aqua slowly got off the floor and ran to the adventurer's hallway. This was no time for emotions.

The door opened. The hallway was empty but for a few gold-ranked adventurers. They were on guard duty.

What amazing luck she had. The two guards immediately saw her run-up to them. She had not taken any time to catch her breath and almost fell down to the floor from the physical and mental strain.

"Please, warn the others."

The child spoke those words without any hesitation. The adventurers looked at each other with a calm face, and then stared at the child.

"Are there demi-humans outside?"

"No, Mr. Smith. He is going to kill those Mithril adventurers!"

The two guards laughed.

"Oh, you mean those fools, I feel bad for them too, kid, but don't worry. The worst thing…"

"No, you guys don't understand, once he's done with them, he's going to kill us all!"

Aqua felt her body grow in pain. A kick was launched, and she fell down to the floor.

"Listen, kid, I don't have time to listen to your stories."

She looked at both of them.

 _"They are drinking?"_

Why in the world would they be drinking on guard duty? Yes, there has not been any danger since they were hired, but that was no exception. The child wanted to tell them to stop, but of course, no fool would expect them to follow her orders.

Therefore, the child gave up on them. Getting one of the higher-ranked servants would solve this problem. No, it would prevent the entire massacre Mr. Smith was planning to do.

As a child, many people would not believe her, especially since she was not in uniform. Aqua could go back and get evidence of the killings. But she knew Mr. Smith was going to start his plan soon. Therefore, someone older must inform the public.

And there were only a few people she thinks who would believe her. That was the manager.

Aqua quickly moved up the stairs and came across the servants' quarters. Her roommates would not be of any help. Therefore, Aqua opened the door to the manager's room without knocking.

"Mr. Ray!."

He was inside the room. Though she did not walk in with proper manners, that would be excused if there was an emergency. But if she had gone it for any other reason, she would have been fired on the spot. That is why the child looked at her boss with a stern eye. He was dressed in a sort of armor, but Aqua still followed through with her plan.

"What is it?"

Her manager spoke in a calm tone. He was not mad that she had burst inside without knocking, so Aqua continued on to tell the truth, even if it sounded fake.

"The boss, Mr. Smith, I know this sounds unbelievable, but he plans to kill every one of us here."

"No, not all of us, he only plans on capturing the adventurers and using them for an experiment."

"Then you know about it too, right? Let's call all the adventurers to gather and…"

Aqua covered her mouth. Why did Mr. Ray know about this? Now that the child thought about it, Mr. Ray was dressed in under-plated armor, and he was even wearing his prized rapier on his side.

"Please don't tell me-"

Before Aqua would get her words out, she heard several hard knocks on the door. Her manager stared hardly onto the child.

"Ho, I see. What a very naughty child, you have been. First, you broke the rule to not go outside at night and then spy on the person who saved you at your lowest."

The manager kicked the child. She fell bottom first.

What had just happened?

Aqua rose again and saw Mr. Ray gathering some more unusual magical items on his desk.

"I am very disappointed, you know."

"No, you are wrong, Mr. Smith and you all-"

"It looks like you don't understand. You should be grateful and respect Mr. Smith. If not for him, you would have died a long time ago. Know your place."

The knocking on the door grew, the manager grinned.

"In this world, the strong prey on the weak. There is no exception to that. Kings, adventurers, and nobles all only truly care for themselves."

Mr. Ray pointed at the door.

"For example, look at those adventurers outside the door. They are only here because Mr. Smith and I paid for them. If you try to warn them about me, they will kill you."

The knocking became louder. Mr. Ray grabbed onto his rapier.

The child was speechless.

"That is fools talk."

Mr. Smith is in the right? No, that is wrong. Adventures are humans and people who care for the public. They wouldn't merely kill whenever ordered to. Just a few meters away from her was help and people who are willing to provide justice.

The child stood and ran to the door. All she needed to do was provide reasoning, and the adventurers would understand

But the door broke open, blades were in their hands. Aqua's eyes widen at the sight of the warriors. They were filled with such hatred and power.

Their eyes stopped the child on sight.

Her body was paralyzed. Arrows and swords were aimed at her.

 _"They are going to kill me."_

Aqua recalled those hateful eyes. It was full of desire to kill. How foolish it was for her to trust them.

Now that she thought of it, Miss Nabe was likely the same. This world is cruel. The strong takes advantage of the weak. Why didn't she see that?

As the child and the weakest one here. Her life can be easily taken away. In other words. It was useless.

The child kneeled on the floor.

Aqua did not warn the adventurers for the invisible foe behind them. Mr. Ray took them out in an instant.


	10. Chapter 8 part 2

Alaric checked his eyepatch. The mage was in bed and was still resting in bed. The injuries he received from the duel was minimal enough that magic could heal without any problem.

Yet, he decided to stay in bed. This was due to the loss of his pride. Not that he had much, to begin with.

As a person who never had a talent for magic. People never cared or noticed him in the streets.

It was a miracle that he was accepted to go to one of the best magic schools in the Baharuth Empire. That took place around 10 years ago. He only managed to get in because of a retired Adamantite adventurer, but regardless, because of his lack of talent, he could not even pass the first final exam. That was to be expected, he could only use 1st tier magic while the other students were already in the higher limits of the 2nd tier.

Of course, he would have been able to pass the 1st final exam if he was smarter. Alaric was a fool at that time. Not in terms of intelligence. He is quite a sharp fellow for being able to survive a magic school for several months.

It was because his ideals were foolish, he was kicked out. If only he realized that sooner before his mother died. Yes, his mother was doomed to die from an illness, but the method she was killed still angered him to this day.

 _"Rangobart,"_

A powerful noble who'd used his mother for an experiment that killed her. That sickening human being tricked him. He had told Alaric that he planned to cure his mother but ended up doing that.

He should have known what he was planning to do. Alaric could not help himself but kill that noble.

At the time, Ranguobart was stronger than himself. It confuses Alaric himself how he defeated him, but after that event, the dream of becoming a knight for the empire was dead.

Alaric knew the nobles would find out he was the one who killed Rangobart and they would imprison him for life. It was this event that made him run away and change his name into someone else's.

He questioned why everything came to this. And when Alaric first realized it, all these events connected to a single man. A retired adventurer.

Alaric grinned his teeth, he did not want to recall that name.

He would do everything in his power just to see him dead, but of course, he did not have the money to hire powerful assassins or even if he did, he would miss the lovely taste of revenge

Therefore, Alaric trained in many other magic schools around the civilized nations and finally gain the goal of nearly casting 4th tier magic.

But of course, the real goal of his training was to kill that man.

He became an adventurer for the sole purpose.

But why didn't he realize he was still not strong enough.

Alaric signed.

The adventurer named Nabe. She was the same rank as that man. If he could not even last a few seconds against her, then fighting that man would be a death sentence.

Alaric sat up and grabbed his eye patch.

Alaric could ruin his requisition and give away his true identity, but that would defeat the whole purpose of becoming stronger than him. Yet, the only way Alaric could think of killing that man was to poison or kill him in his sleep. At least that was if Alaric did not have any other plans.

Over the years, he collected many powerful magical items that may give him victory against a powerful foe like him.

Although he never truly tested them. Whenever he used them against a foe, they always die in a few hits.

Since that mage named Nabe is actually real, maybe he would challenge her to a duel again. He did not really mind he's intuition was wrong. From his past failures, he was always expecting that there was a chance of defeat.

But now that he knows the mage's real power, this is a chance to test his best equipment.

But that thought was interrupted by a bell. It rang once and then twice again. It continued on in that particular pattern.

 _"Isn't that the emergency signal?"_

In the meetings, often, their employer would tell them if something perilous came, they would signal a bell to warn the adventurers for battle. Since there were many people on guard duty, the bell ranging meant that something powerful had just appeared.

Alaric grabbed his essential gear and headed out of the room. It was time to gather his team. He had not heard from them after the duel, but surely they would be in the battlegrounds after hearing the bell.

But it seemed he would have to fight his way through first.

There were 5 goblins in the hallway. Was the situation that bad? The enemy has already passed the on-duty guards? If that was the case, then he might have to get serious.

As he looked at the goblins. No, that was not right. They looked like hobgoblins based on their size and sheer muscle mass. By looking at them, it would look like they rivaled the power of a silver ranked adventurer.

 _"Tick, it looks like I'll have some trouble getting to the others."_

In typical situations, Alaric would have no problem killing monsters with a difficulty rating of 25. But in a sense, he needed to save his mana supply for later in case of more powerful enemies. Therefore, Alaric forced himself to use lower tier magic.

[Flame arrow]

A 2nd tier fire spell, it was not powerful enough to kill those hobgoblins in a single hit, but it did give enough time for him to run to safety.

The adventurers had been here for more than a week now. Even Alaric, who never study the layout, knew well enough where to go. The sounds of battle cries led him to the cafeteria.

Blood was splattered around the expensive floors. There were no bodies of humans seen, but many demi-humans have fallen in battle.

Across the room, he could see multiple warriors struggling as their stamina was about to deplete. Gold plates hung around their necks. On the second floor, numerous platinum adventurers were holding their ground, firing magic spells and arrows to the enemies below.

But no sign of his teammates.

"Hey, you all."

Alaric yelled to get the attention of everyone in the room, including the monsters. He did not care if the demi-humans would attack him in this moment of weakness.

"Where are the other Mithril adventurers?"

One of the gold-ranked warriors glanced at him. But looked back at the monsters he was facing.

 _"Tick, useless."_

Couldn't that warrior see answering his question was more important right now? Alaric placed his hands outward and launched a spell.

"[Lighting]"

It pierced through most of the demi-humans in the 1st room. Usually, it was supposed to go in a straight line, but Alaric modified its direction with the use of one of his prized magic items.

Most of the adventurers quickly realized who he was. The man who brutally got beaten by an Adamantite adventurer, but also a mage who acquired the rank of Mithril.

The warriors had a smile to their faces, but Alaric soon put an end to that.

"Where are the other Mithril adventurers?"

"I saw them outside early in the morning with Mr. Smith, so I guess we don't have to worry about our boss getting hurt."

Alaric signed. This would be good news. But as a veteran mage caster. He knew that their employees themselves might be the enemy. Especially if it's a noble. You can never trust a noble.

"Where is the Adamantite adventurer, Nabe?"

"She was assigned at a guard post far away from the mansion's property. we tried using the spell message to contact her, but it was interrupted."

"What? It was interrupted?"

No demi-human besides those with a difficulty rating of at least 80 or higher could have a spell like that. Not even Alaric could do it. That meant there should be a monster here; all of them together would have a hard time beating.

But again, monsters having the ability to use that magic was rare. Besides Elder Liches or Magelos. Alaric could not think of any being who has a unique talent like that.

 _"Could it be one of the great monsters of the forest is attacking us?"_

It was a scarce possibility. Not only that, the forest was miles away from here.

"Alaric!"

Someone cried out. Was the second wave of demons coming? Alaric was only a mage caster and stepped back to the line of warriors. He could not risk getting hit if a monster like that was around. Granted, his physical abilities for a mage caster were above average, these warriors would serve better protection than his own gear.

But when against something with a difficulty of 80, these men would only serve as meat shields. Only he and the platinum rank adventurers would have the best chance of beating it.

But thank god the situation did not come to that.

Someone yelled due to the appearance of a servant. It was a butler, and he looked slightly hurt on his shoulder, but healing magic would fix it with no problem.

 _"Perhaps Mr. Smith is not an enemy."_

No, there was still a possibility of that. The servants might not have any knowledge about the betrayal if there is one. But just to make sure, Alaric walked towards the butler.

He looked like he was traumatized by the recent events. Weren't these servants suppose to be strong? It could be that the servant was acting, but again, many skilled swordsmen who never seen the face of combat or blood often end up like this.

It could be that this servant fit that description, and therefore, Alaric placed his hands on the servant's shoulders and punched him in the gut.

His eyes went wide. Alaric's face remains still. Every adventurer gazed at him with a hostile look.

"Oh, It looks like I was wrong."

Alaric punched the butler to see how he would react. If he were the enemy, he would have immediately rebelled. On the other hand, the butler simply went down without a fight. At least that what it looked like.

"Alaric, what are you-"

Before that adventurer could say anything, a sudden loud noise came from the fallen servant.

A gas bomb. Alaric immediately covered his mouth and activated his magic defenses. Mr. Smith is most likely the enemy.

He did not expect the servant to react that way either. He could only cast gas protection on one person at a time. And on top of that, the second wave of demi-humans started to shower on them. He would only hope his mana supply would last until the other adventurers arrive.

 _"Shit,"_

That was not likely going to happen. Now that he thought about it, that magic caster Nabe was on guard duty alone. Was that on purpose? Yes, it was. That was no coincidence. It was so the other demi-humans could ambush her.

Granted, she was powerful enough to defeat him in only several seconds. The fact that his team has not come out of the shadows meant something. If those adventurers' words were right.

It meant that his teammates have already been killed.

 _"Tck."_

Alaric realized he would not be getting out of this so quickly.

Part 2

Today, Narberal was on guard duty. She had finally completed translating all of the old books yesterday. So now, Narberal was simply trying to look for that legendary beast that's been doing a pretty good job at hiding for the past week. Now, It was boring and a slow way to spend the day doing. At first, she was quite excited to be doing something else rather than reading books. It was only that they had not found any clues of that beast whereabouts. Her shadow demon had not found any powerful monsters inside the forest either. Worst of all, they were both searching deeper part of the woods, and they still haven't found it

While unusual for Mr. Smith to assign her a sport far from her usual position. But she did not question it as it would give her more time to look for that powerful beast. It was quite an advantage to her, and Narberal did not want that to change.

But even then, they could not find anything dangerous. She knew that was going to happen from the start, but Narberal wanted to verify these results.

And now she had gotten it. Narberal signed.

 _"I wonder what my other sisters are doing."_

They were likely very busy. Doing work that would benefit the Tomb of Narisck. While she was doing nothing that would help Lord Ainz. If only she were smarter that she would still be by Lord Ainz's side and not in this training mission, she was assigned to.

Narberal couldn't help to evaluate herself. The only thing she learned was how to read and write. The main "objective" in this mission was to likely get more used to humans. Lord Ainz did not tell her this, but that was most likely the reason for this job.

And Narberal did not complete that main objective at all.

Granted, this job is going to pay quite a bit of money, which will benefit the financial situation.

But the thought of not learning or doing anything beneficial, and the fact that Lord Ainz was now more at risk without her by his side, made her quite stressed.

She stopped that thought and glanced at the area. Narberal could not think like that all day. There was still a chance she could do some good in this job, but that was highly unlikely.

Still, Narberal scanned the area once more. She did not have bunny ears activated since adventurers might come across her and see it.

But now Narberal knew for a fact they would not. A sound of a bell rung. Narberal was far away from the mansion, but could still hear it due to having her sensory boosted from her support spells. That was the first time it had rung. Something must have been going on.

And that also meant this was a chance for Narberal to show Lord Ainz's greatness.

She was about to teleport to the mansion but found a sudden feeling of resistance. The magic spell was not going through. Something was interrupting with her teleportation spell.

Narberal quickly got on guard. This anti-teleportation magic was a "lower tier" version of the one Lord Ainz always uses. Narberal herself can dis-spell this one, but of course, she could not show her real power without permission.

Especially since her enemy knows how to use this type of magic. Lord Ainz and herself have met many magic casters, and none of them knew how to perform this kind of performance. Therefore, her enemy must be a powerful being that lived in this new world.

And they must be planning something big. Narberal's shadow demon came rushing to her.

"Someone is coming."

He said those words quickly. Narberal nodded, She noticed it too. Both of them did not have much skill in tracking or hunting. But even she could sense the presence of something.

Narberal wielded her blade.

A dark shadow rose 20 meters away from her. It came downward, and Narberal disbursed her defensive stance. Although there was a chance it might be an ally, Narberal did not hesitant.

"[Thunderball]"

An aoe attack lighting attack. It was a 3rd tier spell, and humans started to fall to the ground.

 _"The servants?"_

About 5 servants fell to the ground. They were still conscious but looked at Narberal with a hostile stare. They were wearing armor, and Narberal almost slapped herself.

The servants were likely here to provide support for her. Since she was a magic caster, it was only natural, they would think she might be in trouble. Not only that, the sound of the bell can barely be heard from here. They were likely here to tell her about what was going on, and Narberal just struck them down.

 _"I hope they understand that attack was just a misunderstanding."_

 **Part 3**

Mr. Ray's eyes widen. How did she know they were here to capture her? The servant Aqua was out of the question, so the reason how that adventurer got that information was non-existent.

The spell Message can not be activated, nor any adventurers here had the intelligence to figure out their true intentions.

There was a possibility that the event now was a mistake, and Nabe had mistakenly thought of them as monsters. But again, she purposely used a lighting spell that can decapitate warriors with armor. Using it against monsters was powerful but an ineffective move when you compare its effects to other spells. That meant the adventurer Nabe knew that they were coming.

 _"Have we underestimated this mage?"_

From their reports. The mage, Nabe, was not known to have very-skilled informational gathering skills. But of course, they had miscalculated. Never underestimate Adamantite adventurers. They were at the peak of humanity, and Mr. Ray should have known better.

The second-in-command walked next to Mr. Ray. His face was looking pale.

"Sir, shall we retreat?"

"No, that mage caster knew we were going after her all along."

"Then why are we still here?"

That was one question Mr. Ray could easily answer.

All the people gathered here were the most elite force Mr. Smith had. All of them were at least on the skill level of a Mithril adventurer. In fact, he was on the level of the upper limits of an Orichalcum adventurer. Combined with their strength, they were a force that can rival the entire combat force of the E-Rantel's adventurer guild. That was not counting for the new Adamantite group, Darkness. But even then, their strength can not be taken lightly.

The adventures hired for this mission would stand no chance once they take down the mage Nabe.

Again, though, he and the others have to be on guard. It still wondered him how the mage knew they were coming and why she had not place in any traps ahead of time.

"Does she thinks she can take us all at once?"

It could be that she underestimated their strength. Or perhaps the great Momon was here. That would be a problem, and Mr. Smith would have to call upon his trump cards. No one would be able to deal with that.

There were two monsters that had been on a winning streak. One of them was the beast the adventurers feared so much. It surpassed the level of the 3 legendary monsters who ruled the Tob Forest.

If a situation occurred, such as if all of them were defeated, then it would be summoned.

But that was highly unlikely, once Nabe is defeated, this battle is over. Putting the mage caster on guard duty alone was part of the plan. No other adventurer would come and help her.

Mr. Ray signaled the thieves to check for traps. Again, he tried to analyze the mindset of this magic caster. Unless she was naive, one would not come out here alone.

But he assumed that was the case. The group's assigned thief came back with no reports of anything unusual.

He smirked. Although that mage was smart, Nabe was very foolish, even if she is at the peak of humanity, they were also near that point.

The servants on the ground stood up. A single lightning spell would not take them down so easily. While that mage caster is distracted, Mr. Ray moved through the shadows. Nabe did not notice him.

As an assassin and housekeeper, he trained in the arts of the shadows. No average human would ever detect him in the dark. Without unique spells, even adventurers would not be able to see him.

Therefore, this was the best time to strike. Mr. Ray prepared his most potent attack, a single thrust. His rapier wined, and he came out of the brushes.

It merely looked like a thrust attack, but it was combined with many martial art skills that made it almost unblockable. It was an attack that could rival a blow from Adamantite adventurers.

The mage, Nabe, looked at his direction. Had she spotted him? Even if she did, it was too late. Teleportation is fast, but Mr. Smith placed in anti-teleportation magic, and there was no way that mage would be able to parry his attack with that steel sword of hers.

At best, her physical abilities were those of a platinum-ranked adventurer.

Knowing this, Mr. Ray reached into the combat zone. He put more strength into his legs and placed the hit.

At least that was what he was planning to do.

Mr. Ray looked around his arm. It was covered by some type of shadow.

"What is this… a spell?"

He glanced at Nabe, she was doing nothing that indicated she activated a spell. Was it a trap then?

Mr. Ray felt his stomach in pain. Something had hit his ribs, and he was sent flying to the trees. He quickly tried getting up, but he felt his arms and legs were tied up.

If he was stronger or if he still had his blade, he could break through this mysterious barrier. But he could not. Had he underestimated his mage caster again?

He kept the desire to scream. Lighting exploded out from the ground he stood on. That magic caster did place in traps.

 _"Those useless thieves."_

Mr. Ray raised his hand to order everyone to attack all at once.

Yet, no one followed through with his plan. Everyone was standing still. What was the reason for that? Even the best magic casters would be defeat with they were to get ambushed by all sides. Mr. Ray turned to the direction his men were facing to analyze the situation. If he could get a good look at the situation, he might know what was going on.

No, it is a fact he'll know what was happening. This was because he saw two lightning spheres floating in the palms of that mage caster.

It was sparkled with spikes of electricity. Each Sphere seemed to contain enough energy to destroy an entire army.

 _"What tier magic is that?"_

Whatever the tier it was. It was definitely beyond 4th, possibly even 5th or 6th tier magic. No, it can not be in the realm of that level. Only Fludar, the most mighty mage caster in the world, could do a task like that.

"Everyone, don't be afraid. Activate your anti-magic defenses!"

Every one of his troops nodded and activated the spell. The Slane Theocracy provided armor that Is very resistant to magic attacks up to 5th tier, similar to the immunity Skeleton Dragons had, except it was slightly weaker.

"I see, all of you have resistance to magic."

The adventurer Nabe stated those words. It looked like she knew she had no chance of beating all of them, yet she still stood.

"I hate to do this, but I will have to use higher tier magic."

"Hm, stop buffing."

The mage did not respond. The lighting ball grew more potent.

"You can't be serious."

This had to be in the realm beyond 5th tier magic. Everyone here would be confident in taking a blow from a 5th tier spell, but not this. Training from the Slane Theory had not prepared them for this type of attack.

"Hm, humans like you cannot understand."

It appeared that magic caster had read his thoughts. No, It was his face that gave that information out. He desperately moved his arms and legs.

"What are you guys doing? Stop that spell!"

Everyone present knew if Nabe activated that spell. All of them would die. Yet, It took them moments to nod to that order. But it was too late.

The spell was released. Lightning bolts flew in every direction.

Mr. Ray closed his eyes to await his fate. It would be over soon. That spell was likely powerful enough to vaporize him despite his well-trained body and resistance to magic in an instant.

But that moment did not come.

The man opened his eyes.

None of his elite servants were standing. Surprisingly, their bodies were still together, but all of them were dead, but him.

 _"Ah, I see."_

The mage stood in front of him with a blade in her hand.

"Tell me everything you know, and I will spare your life."

He smiled at himself. That mage should take some more acting lessons. He can tell he would still be killed even if he answers all Nabe's questions. That was the reason he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Besides, Mr. Smith had three trump cards that would quickly destroy her and the adventurers. That magic spell must have taken most of her mana. There was no way she had the ability to kill it now.

Mr. Ray glance at that magic caster. She is likely barely standing. A spell similar to that would take many elite magic casters from the Slane Theory to perform.

But yet she was not even breathing heavily. Mr. Ray's eyes widen. He bowed to the floor. Well, he tried to do that. His ribs were broken, and his weapon was nowhere to be seen.

"There's no way, Mr. Smith can deal with her."

Yet, before he could summon the mana to make a message to his boss. That monster of a magic caster looked at him. She figured out his plan.

"Well, if you are not going to say something, then die, insect."


	11. Chapter 9

The grand hallway was guarded by many of his servants and the demi-humans. They were given to Mr. Smith by the Slane Theocracy, and to hold all of them in one place, he had moved his position in the mansion. It was to welcome the adventurers who will be coming here to battle him.

It may look foolish, but that was only if his troops were weak or if the enemy was at full power. That was why he used his disposable forces to combat the adventurers. It was also the reason everyone in the grand hallway was a step up in strength when compared. There was not a massive gap between the two groups.

Yet, Mr. Smith was still calm. That was because his personally trained servants were his elite forces in his mission. They cannot be compared to the Black Scripture, but in terms of power, they almost reached the peak of humanity.

Mr. Smith sent them off to defeat that magic caster named Nabe. If what the captain of the Black Scripture said about her was right, it would be problematic. Yet, the reason why both of them agreed to have his troops deal with her was that they had verified her power.

How they verified it was by making Nabe translate the books. A top-rated mage caster had a large amount of mana, but could not convert hundreds of books in a week.

Since Nabe completed that task in what it would take an average Adamantite adventurer to do. That verified she was not a godlike or one of the beings that came once every 200 years. If she was a god-kin, she could have completed translating the books in a day or two because of her near endless mana.

Of course, to make sure her power level was correct. He had one of his servants use one of the Slane Theocracy's advanced equipment to measure the tier of magic she could use.

In the report, they observed that adventurer is capable of 5th magic tier. It was not too different from what they researched from the adventurer's past, but it was still something not to take lightly. 5th tier magic can still severely injure the best of his troops. It was the reason why they were equipped with many magical items that were resistant to magic.

With all of these items, no mage caster would be able to deal with them without preparation. Thus, the operation to capture her went into practice. After Mr. Smith's elite forces comes back, the adventurers left here would slowly be defeated and they would be capture too.

Based on the reports, his minions gave him, most of the adventurers were tired and weak from battling. He may not even need to use his elite forces, let alone his trump cards.

Plus, with the addition of the poisonous gas going around the mansion, the adventurers might not even make it here.

"Hm, these humans are so weak."

Mr. Smith would have hired more powerful adventurers, but then that would look too suspicious. One would question why he would hire so many people when all they are doing is guarding a mansion. Therefore, he had to the latter and hire a varied range of adventurers.

Now, if he was a king, that would be a different matter.

 _"Hehe, I wonder how that country is doing."_

He still remembered drinking that treasured alcohol a country made for him. He wondered if he could get the materials to make it once he completes everything, yet that would have to wait.

There were knockings on the door. One of the elves got the door and came out a thief from the elite forces he sent. Mr. Smith prepared for the excellent news and quickly stood from the chair. Yet the news he had been waiting for did not come.

The servant looked very injured. His anti-magic armor was in tatters, and his arm looked dislocated.

"That monster of a magic caster. We stood no chance."

He muttered those words. Mr. Smith heard them and called one of the magic casters to heal him. He could be a spy or an adventurer who used illusion magic to get here. Mr. Smith did not recall any adventurer having the ability to do that.

Therefore, that person must have been real. Mr. Smith was old and thought he misheard that voice.

But again, once the servant was healed. That statement was yelled again throughout the room.

"Impossible,"

That word was which everyone, even the low intelligent demi-humans thought of. Mr. Smith was prepared in a case they failed, but there was a fact.

A mage who can use 5th tier magic would stand no chance against his equipped troops. Therefore, she must have been set traps in place beforehand.

"Did that magic caster know we were the enemy?"

"Yes, sir, that magic caster placed in multiple traps that destroy our forces. Since our mission has been compromised. We should call for reinforcements."

Mr. Smith knew that word was going to come out, yet he still questioned how that information was leaked.

"Mr. Smith!"

One of his servants called out his name.

"You have to accept that your plan was flawed."

"Yes, it is flawed, but that magic caster should have never been able to find out my plans."

No servant would give away information about the capture of the adventurers. The servant Aqua was out of the question, too, unless.

Mr. Smith realized it. When he saw the answer, his servant, confidently nodded to his response.

"That magic caster was on to me?"

Aqua, the servant, was one who informed that magic caster. She was the betrayer. Mr. Smith had countermeasures to prevent information from leaking. That was to switch clients of untrustful servants every few days. When Ray told Mr. Smith that Nabe wanted to keep the child as a servant, he knew something was wrong but did not realize it.

That magic caster was developing trust with that servant. Mr. Smith could not merely refuse Nabe's request. It would look strange to the other adventurers. And the fact that servant Aqua was spying on them in the night.

That must have been a request from that magic caster. It was quite possible. That could not be a coincidence. Mr. Smith had analyzed the personality of everyone working here, and the child was not the type to go outside at night.

"Elf, tell me the servant Aqua's work schedule with the adventurer Nabe."

"Yes, sir."

The elf quickly handed Mr. Smith the work hour spreadsheet. Mr. Smith scanned the papers. Every servant had to write the work time they completed with the adventurers. It was also enchanted with magic, which would be able to tell if one was lying or not. Nabe may have cast a spell that would bypass that rule, but it was still valuable information.

As Mr. Smith found out, Aqua been assisting Nabe past midnight for several days.

Sweat came onto his face.

"Elf, is it true that the servant Aqua had been assisting the adventurer Nabe late in the night?"

"Yes, the librarian had informed me that often, the child would look sleep-deprived after days of working late. Her roommates can also be witnesses to that fact."

"I see."

Mr. Smith wanted to slap his hand onto the chair.

"That mage was on to me this whole time. That adventurer used that servant to aid her in information gathering!"

Now that Mr. Smith thought about it, the adventurer Nabe had always been cold to him and the other servants. Did she know all along what he was planing?

 _"No, that adventurer could not have figured out my plans that early."_

In addition, Nabe was even cold to the other adventurers. But then he recalled the first time he met that adventurer. The feeling of laughter changed into frustration.

"Where Is that magic caster now?"

"I do not know, but the poison gas that was in the mansion is now gone, and the anti-teleportation barrier had recently been broken."

It was a mistake to let that servant go.

"Find the servant Aqua, get that Bafolk magic caster back here, and prepare to summon that monster."

"Wouldn't it be better to request the Black Scripture to help?"

"No, I will finish this mess myself."

 **Part 2**

Across the forest was the mansion Narberal was supposed to guard. Now black smoke was coming from the building. The adventurers must be battling.

After defeating that group of servants who'd attacked her. There was no question what was going on.

Yes, the servants here betrayed Mr. Smith and was on a rampage across the mansion. Narberal nodded to that fact. Even a ant would figure that out.

Both she and her shadow demon were at the outer perimeter of the mansion, and Narberal turned rightly.

"Shadow demon, stay around me to act as a shield in case something powerful comes along."

This was the usual task shadow demons usually provided. They can also be used for information gathering, but Narberal was quite against it for this situation.

The servants who attacked her had a power level more significant than her assistant. If he were to get ambushed, that would be the end for him, especially if there was a magic caster able to trap him.

It also looked as if that group carried many items able to detect invisibility magic.

That was the reason Narberal decided it was best to stay together. There was that anti-teleportation magic to worry about too.

And now to when she thinks about it. If all the servants are the enemy. Doesn't that mean the child maid is also an enemy as well?

If she was, then Narberal will kill her without any hesitation. But that thought sounded unlikely. If the child were the enemy, the child would have already tried doing something suspicious, such as putting a trap inside her room, but nothing like that ever happened.

Thus, there was a possibility that a "civil war" occurred between Mr. Smith's workers.

Perhaps Narberal should visit the child herself to get more answers if that's the case.

Thus, she decided to go inside. The entrance was unlocked. Narberal went through the side doors and found that nothing was inside. No foes were in sight.

It would be a safe idea to go back to her room. She placed in numerous traps if any monster tried to get inside there.

But Narberal figured she could handle herself here. The yelling of weapons crashing started to become more prominent.

She pulled her sword outward and crossed the corners. Bloodstains were on the walls, and bodies of demi-humans were found laying around.

Hobgoblins, Rabbitmen, Orgies, regular goblins, and Elves were mostly found on the floor. But no humans were with the piles of dead bodies, but the yelling of steel still echoed throughout the hall.

With her shadow demon in front of her. Narberal checked the only opened room that was on the right.

"There's a demon inside that room."

Narberal's shadow demon whispered, and she nodded in response. With her sword in front, she appeared in the room. There were several warriors in there, mostly platinum ranked.

There was a demon that looked like a Bafolk. A race that is commonly known to be adoptive in physical abilities. The most powerful ones can reach a higher physical capacity than Gazef Stronoff or a Martin Lord.

Yet the Bafolk inside that room looked like a magic caster. A waste of physical potential, but it still seemed quite powerful.

A large fireball raged at the remaining warriors. They fell quickly, and Narberal was a little too late to save them.

"Shadow demon, check if they are still alive, I'll fight this demon myself as Nabe."

Narberal slowly chanted some support spells and slowly moved towards the Bafolk. Her shadow demon was still near and signal her; they were still alive.

This was a good thing for the fact that there were now witnesses to view her great power.

"Oh, what is this?"

The Bafolk did not look to notice that, however.

"A mage caster? I've been fighting warriors all day."

"Well, you're in luck, you are about to face true terror."

"Is that a challenge, little human? No human magic caster in this area is more powerful than me!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes, now die, you foolish human!"

With its two furry arms, a fireball that looked like it was in the realms of 4th tier magic formed out of nowhere. It was launched at full speed at Narberal, and an explosion engulfed the entire room.

Part 3

"Hehe, stupid human."

As the son of Buser, the king of the Bafolk race. He had great potential for physical strength. Yet that had never came into his life.

As a child, he was always bullied for the lack of his strength. As one of the firstborns of Buser, it was shameful to be this weak. It became worse when his father became king.

Not that he was a terrible leader, he was one of the best in Bafolk history. The problem was that he wanted to unite the Bafolk race that was very unsuiting for him. In their culture, there are many tribes, and annual wars often happen between them.

Thus, the only way to unite them is to beat them in combat. That was when he was forced to go into battle. This was the moment when he was left alone to die.

He did not remember exactly what happened, but one day he was separated from the main army in a fiery battle. He can handle his own for quite a while, but as the day continued, he could no longer hold on, and nearly died. He had to play dead to live on the next day.

Yet, he already too injured. When the main army won and left. He was too weak to call for help and was left to die on the battlefield. That was when strange-looking humans came around the area to pick him up.

A dwarf with a big hammer, a young man with dual shields, a man in floating armor, and many other powerful-looking humans stood upon him. He thought this the moment when he was going to die, yet they had picked him up.

He then recalled being trained by them. Groups of other demi-humans joined him, and only a few lived after it. Only the strongest could endure it. He recalled there was one rabbit-man trainee whose skills even surpassed his father in strength, but that did not matter. As the mightiest magic caster of the trainee group, he survived the training and could now use 5th tier magic.

And once he gets permission to leave, he could finally meet his father again and duel him into a match for the embarrassment he had to deal with when he was a child.

But It still wondered to this day why those humans picked him up. Was it to increase their military strength? He was stronger than the average magic caster in the Slane Theocracy, so it made sense. But as he has gotten older, he had realized the country hated demi-humans like him.

Yet, he was still treated well with the exception of that training.

 _"Oh, well."_

Those thoughts do not matter now. Once he completes this mission, he'll go back to his homeland. Yet that thought was interrupted.

The explosive from his fireball was now gone. The human magic caster who had challenged him was now vaporized.

That was a mistake, he wasn't ordered to kill them, but one death wouldn't hurt too much.

 _"That magic caster should have said she was weak."_

If she did, that human might have been alive right now. The spell he used was only 4th tier, but he'd been spamming it ever since the fight between the adventurers broke out.

He should probably go back to Mr. Smith. His mana capability is getting too low. His two hands were also a little too hot. If he is not careful, the fur on his hands could be burnt. But he wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.

"What?!"

His right arms were cut off. He then felt no sensation from his left side. Had another adventurer appeared? If one did, he should have sense one coming through the doors.

"Looking for me?"

There was a female voice. That couldn't be that magic caster from earlier. There was no way a human like her could move that fast.

Yet, behind him was that human-looking magic caster.

"You said you were the strongest magic caster here, right? If you can't even beat a mage using a sword, then certainly you are weak compared to me."

"WAit.. wait... I ap-"

Before the son of the Buser could speak, his body became paralyzed as his head desperately tried to turn. His physical strength was weak, but compared to humans, it was still above a sliver rank adventurers'.

Yet he still could not move, it was only then that he realized his head had been chopped off.

Part 4

The body of the furry beast came down. Narberal checked around the room to make sure there were not any more traps, but it seemed there was no need. Her shadow demon rushed towards her.

"I was able to protect the adventurers from the fire blast from earlier."

"Good, were they awake to see my battle against that demon?"

"No, they were unconscious and are too injured to move."

Narberal frowned. She was hoping to get some answers from those adventurers. Of course, she can simply use healing items are them, but she did not want to waste those on insects. It would be better to save it on herself in the worst-case situation.

But she still needed some more information about the situation. There was no way a group of servants had transported this monster from the outside.

Using the spell Gate was a possibility, but that type of magic is too great for mere servants to have. The only thing Narberal could think was that this monster was hiding underground. That was the only place Narberal did not check coming here.

And if that was the case, Mr. Smith might actually be the enemy. This whole mission is a lie if Narberal's theory is correct.

 _"Is there a 3rd party involved in this?"_

Narberal supposed she should capture one of the servants, but then a tiny maid came up into her thoughts once more. It is best she sticks to her original idea of meeting Aqua.

"Shadow demon, put those adventurers in a safe spot and prepare for battle, we are going to the servant's quarters."

The demon nodded.

A translation

Danke sehr = Thank you so much

The little girl whose name was Aqua and her older brother were traveling on a wagon down towards an unnamed mansion where they would be given over to a man named Mr. Smith. We do know, of course, the teenage boy did not make it, but how it happened made the girl still have nightmares of the event.

Currently, Aqua was sitting on her bed in the maid's sleep quarters, she was the only one there, holding a stuffed animal at her side. She was recalling the event where she last saw her family.

How she lost her family is a mystery still unknown to her, but to everyone else, they knew it started with a cough.

When the teenage boy's coughing stopped, there was nothing but silence. Everyone was asleep, her guardian, Timothy didn't seem to notice the boy stopped breathing, but the girl was still awake and saw the sudden stop of breath.

With one eye open, and another one in a dream, the soon to be a maid girl-also known as a slug to Nabe. Could see without question that her older brother, was now sideways and dead.

His eyes stared at the floor.

Looking at nothing.

Before the event, The child was dreaming about a girl in a book. She was the main character of the book, The Child's Handbook. In the dream, she was helping the young girl find her way back home.

She recalled staring at the umbrella in the girl's hands. She remembered the girl handing it to her. She could still remember feeling a smile on her face and saying the words, "Ja, sehr gerne." Aqua was a child whose knowledge of words had surpassed the likes of her own native language, but regardless, that wouldn't save her in the upcoming events.

Just when she was about to receive the parasol. The girl woke up with the body of a cold human by her side.

Her brother was dead.

Now both of the girl's eyes were now open.

The girl jumped wide awake and looked at the body. She recalled shaking.

And the shaking continued.

She could not speak or talk. She could only look at the stiff body of her older sibling. Soon she placed her hands on Timothy's shoulder to wake him up too.

His reaction was not pleasant.

The next thing she recalled was seeing Timothy and a few other men burying her brother in the ground.

It was white. The ground was covered with snow all alike. She could not believe what was happening.

Soon after it was done, Aqua's guardian started leaving to thank the men for their work, but the girl stayed.

She still could not believe what was happening. Soon, the girl went on her knees and started to dig. Her brother couldn't be dead. He was alive, just an hour ago. Why couldn't he still be alive now? That was what the girl thought.

Her hands soon turned purple and started to bleed. The blood was frozen, but the girl did not care. She continued digging.

Before long, Timothy came back only to get her. But she did not want to leave and was dragged to the wagon.

Next, she recalled coming into the mansion. She usually stayed there because Timothy was always off doing his mission.

Whenever he comes back from his work, She recalled hugging tightly to him and was always willing to help him cope with the injuries he received.

She did not want to lose another one of her family. Every time her guardian came back, the girl always helped him with basic manners, such as making dinner.

He always told her to go do something else, but she didn't care to listen. She didn't want him to leave.

Always, she tried to appear happy when she was with him. Usually, when he's at the mansion, he would work on writing books. That is likely how Aqua because so knowledgeable about them. The girl even gave some advice to him, but one day, he did not come back from his daily missions. Had she something wrong?

It seemed true once months had passed the last time she recalled seeing him. Things had changed now. To not let that happen again, she assisted the adventurers and servants to the best of her ability, yet she was about to be left alone again by Mr. Smith.

The adventurers were now also after her head, and the servants no longer here. It looked like everyone was after her death. No one can be trusted.

Aqua tucked herself in the blankets, not wishing to care for the future. She didn't care for anything at the moment.

Not for the adventurers yelling for help, or for the monsters fighting the humans. She did not care for the well being of anyone anymore.

In a few minutes, it was silent, yelling for help had stopped, and the noises seemed to calm down. The adventurers must have just cleared the area. The child did not want to be awake any longer.

Soon the door to her room opened, and the girl looked at the woman with hair that looked like a black hellebore flower standing over herself.

It was Miss Nabe, her appearance was bloody, but as always, she looked cool, just like the poisonous flower she looked similar to, but not that it mattered any longer. She would soon be killed.

"Insect," Nabe asked the girl," Where is Mr. Smith?"

Aqua could not reply, and Nabe became irritated by the girls' quietness.

The mage went near the girl and placed her blade near her. She then asked the girl if she was with the servants to kill every adventurer in the building.

But the girl could not properly reply. She could only think of one person. The person who she believed she could trust. To care for her while she waited for her help. She could not understand his reasoning for abandoning her.

"Mr. Smith… why is he leaving me?" The girl softly spoke.

"What are you talking about?"

Aqua again, did not answer correctly, her mind was stirred up.

"Is it because I lost my value of being a maid!? If I could just train a little, I will still be able to serve him properly."

The girl started to tear when she said those words. And the blanket that covered her was soon nowhere to be seen. The girl threw them away.

"Did Mr. Smith has betrayed the adventurers? Are you aware of this?"

"I am a maid of this mansion. If he did and does not need my services anymore, then please… do it already,"

Aqua's childish behavior wasn't present. It was clear she was serious.

 **Part 5**

Narberal looked at the girl. Surprised by her behavior, just a few days ago, the girl was cheerfully tutoring her and helping her translate a few ancient books.

And now the girl looked dark. She had a dark aura around her. The girl had just asked Narberal to end her life.

"As you please then,"

She took the blade she had in her hands and then prepared to launch it at the child.

But she did not aim for the girl. Narberal tossed her weapon to the side of the room.

For a moment, It appeared as if Narberal was going to comfort the girl. A good pat on the head would have done it. Instead, the girl rose from her position.

The child was grabbed by the collar.

"I am not interested in following orders from a lower life form."

Narberal looked at the child with blonde hair, tied together by a ribbon with the color of grassy fields. She saw the girl was not much different from herself.

Killing oneself to protect the honor of one's master, Narberal knew that. And it seemed that the girl also knew it as well.

But what the girl didn't know was that a living being was worth more than a dead one even if the being is worthless. Lord Ainz had taught Narberal that, but never before, she would think she would want to tell this information to another person. Especially to a human.

No, it is not worth it.

The girl spoke nothing. She resembled the look of a doll. She had no purpose of continuing on.

"Well, thanks for telling me, Mr. Smith is the real enemy."

Narberal then placed the girl down, grabbed her blade from the wall, and then headed out of the room. The girl was now useless. She was worth nothing, not at this moment.

If Narberal had just met the girl, she wouldn't even dare to look back at the child, thinking of her as nothing but trash. But still, she couldn't help feeling something.

Just before Narberal left, it appeared she was trying to find something in her bag.

Before long, she threw a book at the child. Aqua didn't catch the book, but once she saw the book. She collapsed.

The girl could not forget those silver shining words on the cover. It was too important to her.

Quickly she grabbed the book and held it tightly in her arms. It seemed that the girl did not want to die yet.

"You left your book in my room a while back, I suggest you should be more careful next time,"

The girl didn't respond, but she did, only Nabe couldn't understand the words the little girl said.

"Danke sehr" was what the child had said.

* * *

Minor changes between the lore

Buser from the light novel does have kids, but it is not officially known if any of them were trained by the Slane Theocracy.


	12. Chapter 9 part 2

The door was then shut, and the hallway was quiet. Narberal had to kill every monster in the nearby sector to meet with Aqua.

Yet, that was a time well spent. Narberal now knew who the enemy was.

When the door was finally closed, she walked along the wall, thinking of where that shadow demon could be. After getting that information from the child, the shadow demon went off alone to find Mr. Smith.

And before long, her assistant appeared from the shadows and hid in the shade of the walls.

"Nabe, I have found where Mr. Smith is located. He is in the grand hallway. Currently, some humans are fighting the man as we speak. "

"Adventurers? How many casualties?"

"None, the man had only knocked the humans out of commission."

"What is he doing, then?"

"It appears he is capturing them. But I am not sure. I couldn't get close to him. The man looked as if he almost knew I was there."

"If you know where he is, then show me the way."

"Right."

Adventurer groups and their color

Blade and Magic(Mithril)

The Last Flower (Gold)

Soul of Iron (Platinum)

Alpha (Red)

On the day of the attack, many of the adventurer groups were ambushed and captured. It started in the morning where breakfast was being served.

The food was poisoned.

Luckily, there were mages able to use healing magic, but that was when the attack started. With everything in confusion, poisonous gas began to fall onto them, and many of the groups were captured. Only 5 groups remained after that.

Alaric and the others gathered in the grand library to look for anything useful and organized everyone who was still here and living. When they started to do a head count, two of the most powerful groups that Mr. Smith hired were missing. One composed of a single magic caster, and Alaric's group

Alaric, as a member of Blade and Magic, began to heal the wounded, but after hearing the news of no result of seeing them, everyone started to become worried.

It was not a very big loss if the Mithril adventurers were killed. But if an Adamantite adventurer was to be defeated in battle, it was not likely this group composed of Gold and Platinum adventurers would stand a chance against defeating Mr. Smith.

In addition, out of the 30 people who were in this room, only about 10 of them could still fight. Most of them were below the rank of platinum. But they still had to work with what they had.

Alaric looked at the situation, his thoughts were in slight confusion. Everyone knew it was partially his fault. If they had simply done an investigation on that servant, they would have found out he was holding a poisonous magical item. Yes, after Alaric punched that servant, many demi-humans ambushed all of them, and many of the adventurers had fallen because of that. Even he had lost most of his mana supply from that surprise attack. It was no surprise the remaining adventurers were mostly out of energy as well.

In addition, they were confused at the start, who were the enemies. Several of the butlers and maids spoke they were innocent, and later on, betrayed the adventurers.

And because they underestimated them. They were in this situation. Alaric should be frowning with the others, but instead, He smirked and gazed at everyone's faces. If he was to guide this place into safety, he would be called a hero. Yes, he had made that lousy mistake, but Alaric still looked at the up-side of things.

He stood and prepared for his acting skills.

"Everyone!" Alaric said, standing on a table," This is not the time to be waiting around for help. My group and that Adamantite mage caster has not returned and can be presumed dead. We now must take a stand."

"If your Mithril team did not make it," one of the men said," then we don't stand a chance."

"That's where you're wrong. There is strength in numbers, and who knows, my team could have severely weakened the enemy. Right now, this is the best time to strike and kill Mr. Smith."

Everyone in the room looked at Alaric. He smiled and continued onward. Alaric purposely did not mention Nabe's name to give more spotlight for himself.

"Whoever can still fight… come with me to the main hall… that is where we will face Mr. Smith and end this foolish battle."

"What if the enemy isn't weakened?"

"Then we will fight to the death… now come!"

Everyone looked at each other for words. There was none. Even the injured knew that if they were better off fighting to the death rather than sitting here to die. More and more gold and platinum ranked adventurers stood. They gathered by the doors. Alaric approached them and started to give some minor battle plans if they were to come into battle.

It was basic. Maybe if Alaric had more time to think, it would be better. But he did not care at this point. First, he went towards the highest-ranked adventurers to tell about his last resort plan. They had the highest chance of survival, and he felt there was no use in informing the others. Once he was done, Alaric then yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Everyone, our primary goal is to not fight Mr. Smith, but escape outside. "

The adventurers nodded. Someone could call the plan child's play, but the people still needed something to listen to.

"The weaker warriors will be on the front lines, and the strong will be in the back."

It was a strange move, but Alaric decided it was best to have the strongest save their stamina for stronger enemies to ensure his survival.

"Shouldn't the strong be at the front?"

"No, you fought the enemy already, haven't you? Mr. Smith only sent weak enemies for us to deal with. Surely there must be stronger opponents waiting ahead. That is when we would switch positions."

The man nodded.

"Alright, then, are we ready?!"

The warriors nodded, and Alaric opened the doors. Some of them were staying back to guard the very injured who could not move, but most of the forces were going with Alaric. The mansion was large. It would take 2 minutes on walking speed to reach the main hall from their location.

Alaric was at the back where all the other mages were, the front liners were those of a lower than gold. When comparing strength, they would be on par with the Empire's trained professional warriors, but in this situation, they were the weakest here. Surely they would be brought down if a strong monster was to ambush them.

Yet, the hallways were empty. For some reason, there were no bodies on the floor, but only bloodstains. No one could tell if it was from humans or from the enemy. Alaric could reveal it, but that would take too long. Which was why the group of adventurers continued on. There were about 21 of them.

10 were gold ranked, 7 were silver ranked, and the rest of the group were platinum ranked, which numbered in 3. Alaric was the only Mithril ranked adventurer in the group. Nobody has seen Nabe around. She might have already been killed already, which is why they shouldn't worry about that, and more on escaping.

It was a good thing, nothing got in the way of the path. The weaker warriors did not have to do anything. The doors to the main hall when they were assigned their stupid tasks were close, and the first warriors entered it.

Alaric's face bloom into a grin. His hands clutched, and his staff rose. Mr. Smith was on the second floor, sitting on a grand chair looking down at them. Alaric wanted to kill him, he hated people like him... like Nabe and Vesture.

But that would have to wait, He glanced to the exit. It was guarded by many strong-looking demi-humans. Most of them and his forces were about to die, yet that did not matter to him.

"All the mages prepare that final solution plan. Everyone else charges towards the exit!"

Alaric yelled. Everyone followed with his order. With the highest rank and the charm of his act. He had gained everyone's trust despite getting beaten up in public by Nabe.

But he stayed back, there was likely a trap somewhere. Alaric just didn't know where. He gazed at the shadows of the second floor. There were illusion barriers that were on the 2nd floor, and lines of demi-humans stood behind it.

 _"Shit."_

Dozens of arrows rained down on them. Many of the weaker adventurers that were already tired quickly fell to the bolts. First was the weakest ones and then the mages. The stronger warriors and archers blocked the attack, and the surviving mages counter attacked. Alaric grabbed one of the arrows on the floor.

It had a blunt end to it. He looked towards the fallen adventures, they were still alive.

 _"I see."_

Alaric wrinkled his brow. Mr. Smith wasn't killing them. Instead was he was going to capturing the adventurers. At least, that what Alaric thought. If Mr. Smith was looking for humans to sacrifice or capture, he could have easily gone to a rundown kingdom and trapped some random humans. That was the reason it was strange to target adventurers. It would have made sense if Mr. Smith were killing them all to weaken a country's "military" power, but he was not.

"Mr. Smith… I'll gain some so much fame for capturing you."

Alaric knew something was up, but could not solve it. Killing him will bring answers and fame possibly. But that would not matter if he died. Mainly, only strong adventurers were left. Even if they ran out the door, the demi-humans would chase after them, and most of the demi-humans from the 2nd floor already started to attack them head-on in melee combat. Alaric signed, he will use this chance to kill Mr. Smith.

The only chance of survival was if they kill the commander as his forces were too small to secure a runaway.

There were about 1 sliver, 4 gold, and all of the platinum rank warriors that were holding the line from reaching the group of 5 mages and 2 archers. The surprise attack dealt a tremendous military loss to them. There is no telling if he could get another chance like this to kill him.

[Ability boost, Fly, Defense boost]

But he still had to try. Alaric was still low on mana from the last ambush and only used the necessary defense skills to bypass the army of monsters ahead of them. Thus, he signaled the front line he was coming through, and Alaric flew through the battle. There was no one but him in the middle of the herd. Alaric dodged each blow that was exchanged and toppled onto the stairs. He then set his aim at Mr. Smith.

Alaric grabbed one of his magical crystals and summoned a spell.

"4th tier magic….. Greater Fireball!"

The flames flew and engulfed the tiny man. Usually, it would kill an average human in seconds, but Mr. Smith was still sitting there. It did no damage, not even a scratch.

"He's wearing magical protections?"

Alaric was about to lift his eyepatch to check if that was true, but the floor under him started to move.

"You fitchy mage," Mr. Smith spoke.

Alaric felt the staircase more shake. Something was coming out of the ground. Alaric used the spell [fly] and return back to the frontlines. Besides him, there were only eight other adventurers still standing, and none of the demi-humans was up. In power, they were weak, like the other ones they previously fought, but the monster rising from the stone ground looked strong. He wondered if the beast was Mr. Smith's trump card.

No, that fact was obvious. This was because the beast in front of them was the same monster that's been terrorizing this place the entire time.

 _"Shit,"_

It was three meters high and looked like a giant ogre. The weapon the monster wielded was more massive than the average human, and muscles covered the entire body.

Three foolish warriors came down on it. By looking at their plate. You could tell they were gold-ranked adventurers, and they stood no chance.

The club came down and knocked the warriors out in a single blow.

Everyone, including Alaric, ginned their teeth.

"The mages who are still standing, remember the final resort plan!"

Inside the battlefield, the only ones standing were those platinum ranked warriors and 2 mages.

Alaric quickly teleported with the remaining magic casters and landed on the 2nd story. On the first floor were three warriors that still stood. They started running in circles to keep the monster in confusion. Since all the demi-humans guarding the door were dead, they could simply run outside, but it was likely that the beast was much faster than any of them. It would be better to simply finish the battle here.

Alaric activated an Invisible spell and then camouflaged himself and the others. They were on the second floor and watched the beast while the warriors on the first floor watched for a signal. Their faces were contorted with pride and were rallied like heroes.

One mage stood out from the rest. Alaric held his hand up high.

"Are the others down there ready?" Alaric questioned.

"Yes," A mage responded, do you want me to signal them?"

"Not yet, I'll signal them when the moment is right."

Alaric soon counted his fingers for the signal, he knew they had to make a move at some point. Judging how that beast knocked out the gold rank adventurers in one hit, they knew they had to be careful and use the group's final trump card.

The monster was walking, the warriors on the first floor were distracting the beast.

When it's back was turned away from the mages, Alaric began the count.

"3…. 2…. 1."

The signal was a fireball. Alaric fired it at the beast, and what followed next was the 3 warriors with weapons differentiating from each other.

All three hits were successful. They landed critical hits on the monster. Small spills of blood came out of the beast. The weapons were not enough to cut through the monster's body.

That was when traps, the mages had set up activated. Each mage was specialized in incapacitating or killing a massive beast, similar to the one they were fighting.

In a few seconds, the three melee members of the group retreated, and a barrage of magic spells fell down onto the monster.

Colors were the only things visible to a human's eye. The colors of the spells being cast to destroy the beast. 2nd, 3th and 4th tier magic spells all flew onto the monster.

Alaric used the last remaining energy he had and magic crystals into the attacks, and as the colors disappeared and the smoke had finally faded. They saw the monster had fallen.

"Quickly finish it!"

The three melee users dashed in to kill the beast.

Each of them were using armor-piercing blades, but yet it seemed the weapons weren't strong enough. Each and every weapon broke as they landed. The beast had the ability to harden his skin, whenever he liked to.

It wasn't long until it was back standing. Everyone knew the plan had failed, the monster barely took any damage from the attack.

"What?" one of them muttered.

Another one started shaking, it seemed the man wetted his pants. "I.. I don't want to die yet,"

He was the first to be knocked out and soon followed the other two. They didn't last long. It took one hit to knock all but one out.

The last one standing survived thanks to his superior equipment. He did not give up and called to the mages for plan B.

However, there was no Plan B. Only silence, no one came to help the man. The other mages with Alaric ran towards the exit when their plan failed.

Luckily the man lasted long enough for the mages to escape. His armor was rough, maybe even made of Orichalcum. It took a while for the beast to rip it apart.

And with that, the beast also ripped apart the human's hopes. When the last remaining men reached the doors, it was locked. Alaric was out of mana, but he still had one magic crystal left and fired a 3rd tier ice crystal at the door, but it did not move. The ice crystal vaporized in an instant.

 _"Hehe,"_

Alaric went into a kneeling position and placed his hands on the ground.

"It's…. It is over, we cannot win this fight."

"What are you saying?"

"Didn't you see that monster tank all of those attacks? We are under-prepared for this fight. We don't have the right equipment either, and we also don't even know what type of monster we are fighting."

There were no words after that. One of the men tried to be the leader and cheer the remaining of the group up, but it was useless. They had no chance of winning.

There was nowhere else to hide. Once the monster was done ripping apart the armored human.

Its eyes stared into the soul in the last three.

At the end of the side of the grand hallway, you could hear a tiny human calling out to the beast to finish them.

That was the end for them.

The beast almost looked as if it teleported from its position. It was only now a meter away from the three.

One by one, each of the mages was brought down and smashed to the floor. Each saw colors resembling the likes of red liquid spilling out.

That was the last color they would ever see.

Alaric could only look run away while the rest were unknowingly smashed to death.

"Wait," a voice called out from behind. One of the mages seemed to survive being smashed by the beast and was asking Alaric to turn back and help him.

But the man continued running. He ignored the sound of his fellow magic caster bones being crushed. He only wanted to find a way out of this place.

Once the yelling ceased pouring, he raised his neck and realized he was next.

Turning around, he saw the beast running towards him. Before Alaric could yell out in agony. He began seeing more colors. It was not red, but blue.

It was the color of lightning.

Before he knew it, the beast was not standing any longer.

A dark cloaked figure stood where the beast had initially been. The man was saved, he crouched down and wiped his sweat off on his forehand. Alaric couldn't stand up again. He was a skilled mage, but never before had he wished he could go back home.

On the floor, the man proceeded to look up to the bloody figure who saved his life. He would have thanked the person for saving his life. Instead, his eyes toppled onto the mage.

 _"Its Nabe,"_

Alaric grinned his teeth.

"Why did you save me?"

 **Part 2**

Narberal did not look at the mage and only stared at the tiny man named Mr. Smith at the end of the hallway.

 _"Lord Ainz might get mad at me for using a higher magic tier."_

She looked at the monster before her. Since the other servants had magic resistance items. She figured the beast had some too.

But it may have been better to drag the fight out. Yet that would have been meaningless since all the adventurers here wouldn't witness it due to knocked out. Well, besides that mage caster.

Narberal turned and saw the eye-patched man. Haven't she seen him before? She recalled the time when several men dueled her a few days ago but forgotten their names.

"Hey, you."

The man quickly stood from the floor. His arms looked a little shaky. Now that Narberal thought about it, all of the adventurers here seemed to look alive. She couldn't tell at first, but it did look like a large scale fight just took place here.

And it looked like this person is the last one still standing.

"It looks like I was late to the fight, are there any traps that I should be worried about?"

"Not that I know of, but I even if you defeated that monster in one hit, it's dangerous to fight Mr. Smith alone."

Despite the man's warning, she didn't take note of his advice and moved on from her position. It was clear Mr. Smith was finished. You could see it on his face when Narberal had destroyed his trump card in a single hit.

"Guards… guards, what are you doing?" Mr. Smith said, "Attack her, do not let her get near me."

One by one, each of the butlers and maids guarding Mr. Smith started running toward her. But again, they have fallen just like the beast did.

On the staircase, the last adventurer standing could only watch as Narberal single-handedly make her way through the battlefield.

He was taking note of it, he may have been witnessing a legendary fight being untold right under his eyes.

But that was only in Narberal head. She looked back, and that adventurer was not there anymore. Now no one would be able to witness her defeat this mad nobleman.

But one person.

That was Mr. Smith. Narberal could tell she had won the fight. She could see the terror on his face as he tried to run away from her. Once he was a few meters away from the exit, he activated a defense spell.

It was a wall enchanted by magic. It was indestructible to almost any type of force. The only thing powerful enough to destroy it was a spell or power surpassing the likes of 5th tier magic.

 _"This man has an unusually large amount of magical items."_

They were weak compared to what Lord Ainz could produce, yet they were considered strong in this world. Narberal figured she may as well finish this fight before he does something unusual.

[Teleportation]

Narberal took down the anti-message and the other magical barriers around this area. Since they had not gone back up, she assumed Mr. Smith did not have anything else. Granted, he may have placed a trap, but that was unlikely.

A few seconds was not enough time to set up a trap able to harm her.

Therefore, she teleported. Narberal's blade was at his neck.

Mr. Smith smiled, "Teleportation, I should have had prepared for that."

"Even if you placed in anti-teleport magic, I would have still been able to get past that weak barrier of yours."

"That's impossible."

Narberal then pointed her finger to the wall. "I killed your pet with a single strike, Isn't that enough to prove your future?"

She then pointed her blade at the face of Mr. Smith. And prepared to end his life, but just before she could do so.

Words came from the man.

"Wait… wait if you kill me now, all the adventurers I've captured will forever be taken as prisoners."

Luckily Narberal stopped in time just before her sword went through the other side of Mr. Smith's body.

The sword was no longer present, but a silent stare was now apparent. She gazed down at the man and timidly shrugged.

Then she told the man, with concentration, her final thoughts.

"I don't care for those humans,"

"But wait, Don't you think it would be harmful if humanity lost some of its greatest warriors?"

Narberal then placed her blade down and rethought the situation.

 _"So that was the reason why all those adventurers were still alive."_

She had no use for those humans personally. But if Lord Ainz were there, in her place, she thought he would do something differently.

Maybe something heroic. Such as saving those adventurers.

The thought ran through her mind, and for once, she thought it may be a good idea to actually listen to the tiny man.

"I am listening, but if you do anything suspicious, you know what I will do,"

"Wait... WAit, You have beaten me in the combat of intelligence I will not lie to you again."

 _"Intelligence battle?"_

Narberal grinned.

"Good then, now here's the deal. I will free the prisoners I've captured if you spare my life and nothing else."

"What's the catch?"

"What do you mean?"

Her weapon was now present again.

"Don't play stupid, There must be something you're not telling me."

Narberal wasn't as gullible as she used to. Mr. Smith must have been talking that way her to lower her guard. Lord Ainz always told her to be on guard for that, and It seemed she had taken note of it.

"Wait, wait for my men to know you are the person making the deal. You must bring one of my assistants on your journey."

"Well, who is it you have in mind then?"

Mr. Smith then looked at the corpses of the remaining servants he had. Narberal didn't give any of them mercy. All of them were dead. There was no question about it.

It was likely his other servants were also dead from fighting with the other adventurers in the building.

"I think that girl named Aqua should be still around. Bring her, and my men will know it's you."

"Why her?"

"I was going to send her back to the Slane Theocracy. She still has some use, her talent as a warrior is nonexistent, but she has a talent for the books, I was going to send her off there myself, but now you might of guess why I cannot do that now."

"Who do I talk to complete this deal you have in mind?"

"The deal will place place in the Slane Theocracy, in Kuwait City. I will send one of my personal assistants there. Once you're there, talk to them. "

Mr. Smith then took out several papers out of his coat, wrote down some notes, and gave them to Narberal. She then placed her blade down, grabbed the papers, and headed out of the room with no other question.

"So, we have a deal then."

"Shut it bug-worm, if this is a trap you have in mind, then be prepared to face the consequences for your actions."

Narberal then flicked her blade back to its original place and headed out the door. She did not want to be there any longer.


	13. Chapter 10

Narberal's eyes were straightened at the now empty hallway. It was quiet and empty. Along the wall, her footsteps could be heard on the wooden floor. She still wondered what she had gotten into.

"Shadow demon... are you there?" she muttered. There was a reply, and the demon appeared in his human-like form. "Did you hear the little man?"

"Yes, you want me to guard that child… correct?"

She nodded, pointing to the direction of Aqua's room, "I'm going to be in my room to gather my things. When you find the girl, keep an eye on her. If you are caught, tell her you're with me."

He left after she said that, and Narberal was soon at her room again. Her eyes looked around to check if any monsters managed to get in, but none was found. That was fortunate. Her bag was at the corner. No one had touched it, and she was safe but still bloody.

She could have ended it faster. But she had to take safety precautions before battling. Her finger rested on her head, she wanted to contact Lord Ainz about the mission. He immediately responded back, and she examined the room again, making sure the door was locked securely.

She said the first words. "Lord Ainz, I am messaging you about a change of plans."

"A change of plan?" He asked, the tone of voice was not pleasant.

"Well… yes, recently, the job I was assigned to was a trap." She was not confident when she said those words. "I've made a deal with a man to save the humans who were captured."

"Idiot," He commented. "Look what you've done."

One of Narberal's knees went on the floor the moment he responded. Her clothes were still bloody, and her arms, shivering in disappointment, She could only muster a few words to explain her mistake.

"I... apologize for my mistake. I thought our purpose was to help those dirty humans."

"It is, I'm glad you understand that, but that wasn't the right thing to do," Lord Ainz then placed his hands on his face, Narberal didn't see it, but could feel the frustration coming from him. This wasn't part of his plan.

"Narberal, this is my fault, I should have told you what I actually wanted you to do."

"I apologize again," she said, "you don't have to-"

"Never mind," He said, changing the subject, "To fasten the time, let the other adventurers report what happened to the guild. In the meantime, I'll meet with the princess and give you the messages."

"Why can't we just sent a letter to the princess?" She responded.

"It is impolite cancel a meeting with one of the royal members of the kingdom. It's only natural you contact her in person.

"Right"

Narberal nearly forgotten the kingdom dislikes using the spell message. A long time ago, a nation was destroyed because of it.

"I will connect Sebes about the change of plans, and can you tell me more about the man?"

"Yes, he gave me several papers just in case," Narberal reached in her bag and brought them out. "Should I transport the papers to you?"

"No, just tell me what's written,"

Narberal then looked through the papers, It was written with bad handwriting. But she could still make out a few dozen words on the page.

"Basely…," She said while still looking at the paper. "I have to go to the Slane Theocracy to deliver a child named Aqua." Narberal then turned to the next page. "Once I do that, the man who captured those humans will set them free."

"The Slane Theocracy," He questioned, "If you are going there, you might be able to do the princess's request."

Narberal set the papers down. "You think so?"

"Yes, meet me near the eastern side of the capital."

"I thought you were still training Cocytus," Narberal asked, realizing Lord Ainz's actions.

"It ended a few days ago."

"Ah," She nearly forgot the passage of time due to being with the humans. "Are you going to meet with the king too?"

"No, Jaldabaoth is coming,"

She nearly smirked, almost forgetting about the last mistake she had made. They've been planning that operation ever since they became Adamantite adventurers. To boil it down, Demiurge was going to act like a demon named Jaldabaoth and attack the capital city with an army of monsters.

Once the city is in danger, Momon and Nabe would save the day. Well, at least that was Lord Ainz told her.

It would finally solve their money issues, but she still had to worry about Mr. Smith and the child.

After a few more updates with Lord Ainz, The message ended there. In the span of a few moments, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door. It was the only thing she brought with her besides the weapon. Once outside, she saw the other adventurers. Many of them were injured, but she didn't care about them. She needed to find some sort of transportation for the journey ahead.

 **Part 2**

Alaric stared at Nabe. That overconfident magic caster. Yes, she was strong, but Alaric could have beaten that monster too if he knew its weakness.

Lightning. Its weakness was the elemental of lightning. It made sense. There was no other reason for how that mage was able to kill it in one hit. Alaric and the other mages did use all types of elemental spells on the beast, so Nabe must have used 5th tier magic against it.

At best, Alaric could use 3rd tier magic. Anything above that would be impossible for him to do alone due to his lack of talent. But with his best magical equipment, he had collected magical crystals able to launch attacks up 5th tier.

But as luck would have it, he did not bring those items with him. He did not consider he would meet such powerful foes here. It was also because most of the magical items he had could only be activated once every month or so.

Alaric could not complain that much, he did steal those items, and they did granted a significant improvement in his combat ability.

However, he was still maddened at the fact he could have won the fight. The other adventurers would not believe him, but that was a fact. Alaric glanced at the others outside with him. About six other adventurers were cleaning out the building.

Those six were the ones who stayed behind to guard the too injured.

Now the injured count was ten times the amount.

Alaric recalled the others who fought along with him in the hall. They were still alive. All of the injured moved outdoors, but most of them were too damaged to stand. He would use healing magic on some of them, but his mana was too low to waste it on them.

He still had to consider the possibility of getting attacked.

Yet, one of them still had the guts to come by him.

"Alaric, can you come over here and heal some of the adventurers?"

"No, there is only 8 of us who can still fight, if I waste mana to heal those weaklings, then we'll be more vulnerable to attacks."

"Yes, but we do need more manpower to clean out the mansion."

That was true, the adventurers were far away from the nearest town. There would be no time to get help to clean out the dead bodies before they turn undead. But Alaric still declined.

"Why don't you ask that adventurer Nabe for help?"

"I heard she, unfortunately, does not specialize in healing magic."

"Then burn this whole place down if you can't clean it up."

"But, there are valuable materials in there, it would be too wasteful."

"Then do as you please, just know I will not heal those weaklings."

Alaric stood and walked passed him. There was another reason to not help them any longer. Everyone knew what he did in the battle against Mr. Smith. He thought he was the only one still conscious when Nabe finally came, but he was not. Some other adventurer was still awake and saw him cowardly run away.

If he tried stealing credit for defeating Mr. Smith, that would inevitably end up failing. Even if everyone were unconscious, It would still not benefit him. Everyone knows that it was Nabe who defeat Mr. Smith and not Alaric with his plans.

 _"Dammit, if only I had those items, I would have been able to kill that monster."_

If he had that on him. Surely he would have gotten all the credit, but no. All he would get is the right to be called a foolish leader, who lost his confidence in the midst of battle. Alaric still could not believe he fell to the floor and started to yell how they had no chance of winning.

 _"Was it that mage's plan to wait until the situation became bad?"_

It made sense. If Nabe had shown up sooner, both he and she would have gotten credit for leading a group of adventurers to victory, but now she would get all of it for defeating that monster. He hates dealing with people like that, and Mr. Smith.

That's right, that man named Mr. Smith.

Alaric did leave the scene where Nabe was, but he did come across the hearing of echoes that enforced the fact that Mr. Smith was not defeated yet.

That mage caster was making a deal with that man. To save all the adventurers who captured. Alaric grinned when he saw that his intuition was right, but now that he thought about it, this was the best opportunity to get back at that mage caster.

But he couldn't merely talk to that adventurer. Therefore, he had a better idea.

 **Part 3**

The servants' rooms were empty, and the child was still inside, staring at the pages in the Child's Handbook. No tears were found on her face, simply a stare was present. One would think the child would still be in tattered, but she was not.

After reading the book, it claimed the child to the extent she could act. Aqua also had other things to worry about. Living alone in this living world is too cruel for one kid to survive. There is no chance of survival for her.

Aqua knew plenty of stuff, but did not know how to apply the knowledge. The world was a cruel place, and she learned that experience from months of losses.

She could not ask the adventurers for help either. Most of them, besides Miss Nabe, would view her as an enemy. If only she were here. The child covered the windows. That was the reason she could not go outside.

The adventurers were out there. They might still mistakenly see her as the enemy. There were only about 6 of them standing, but they would surely spot her if she were to come outside.

Yet, if she continued to stay here, they would eventually find her since they were clearing out the area.

Since they were doing that, the adventurers must have won. Not that the child was a bad person, but if Mr. Smith had won, there might have been a higher chance of survival for her. But since that was not the case, it was even more of a reason to not stay here, yet the child still sat.

A few knockings came into the door.

The child got off her bed, the adventurers were likely here to check if this area was clear.

Aqua hide in the closet, that was the only hiding spot she could find. Through the small holes, the child peeked through to see if the door has been opened yet.

But she should have already known that. Footsteps were heard. The child tucked. There was only one person. Either they were confident in their skills or very foolish. The child hoped that was the case, but of course, it was not.

"I know you're there."

It was a man's voice. Aqua was hoping it was Miss. Nabe, but it was not. She had heard that voice before. That Mithril mage caster.

The child hoped he did not figure out her location yet.

But then more words came out.

"Listen, I know you're not the enemy, so hear me out. I have this message for that magic caster Nabe. She will be meeting you soon, so once you see her, give this to her."

Aqua heard the door closed. The adventurer left already. Peeking out the holes led to a viewing of a bag.

"Could it be a trap?"

Possibly, yet why would an adventurer do all that work when there is only one child inside? Aqua went out with that intuition and tucked it inside her pack.

The child had prepared a backpack in the worst-case scenario. If the adventurers were hostile to her. She would surely have to run into the wild and fled to the nearest village. The child planned to spend most of her days there until she gathers enough intel when it is safe enough to travel again.

Yet, since that adventurers knew she was not the enemy, Miss Nabe had probably told them not to harm her. The child suddenly felt safer with her around.

It was wise to trust her. She was friendly, after all.

"Slug, Get your things ready, I have to take you somewhere."

However, those words did not sound friendly.

Behind her, Miss. Nabe suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Had she just use teleportation magic? Aqua was about to question that and give Miss. Nabe the letter, but she did not.

The mage just said she was taking her somewhere.

"Miss Nabe?"

Her new caretaker had not responded. She was looking out the window. The mage signed, then snapped her attention back towards the child and told her what she had in plan. "We are walking," She then gave Aqua a handful of papers.

The child stared at them.

"Wait, what is happening, and where is Mr. Smith?"

Aqua didn't understand the situation. Was she going to be with Miss Nabe for a while? Not that this scared her. In fact, this was the best situation for her survival. It was only that she did not understand what was going on.

"Read those papers. you will be under my care for a while."

"Then how long am I going to follow you?

"I told you to read those papers to understand."

"I know, but how are we going to get outside? The adventurers still think of me as the enemy."

Aqua was lying. That man named Alaric knew she was not an enemy, therefore, Miss. Nabe likely informed everyone. Yet she still made that stuff up.

"And Mr. Smith might have some powerful monsters still around."

"Then I will simply teleport out of this place, do you have everything you need?"

Aqua grabbed onto her bag and nodded. Nabe then placed her hand outward and chanted a spell.

"Since I am not specialized in guarding, I will place an invisible spell on you."

 _"That's perfect."_

"Now let's get going, and make sure to read those papers,"

Aqua nodded.

 **Part 4**

Once Narberal left the grand hallway, Mr. Smith had escaped to a secret hideout who only he knew where it was. Just a few hours ago, he'd written a report for the captain of the Black Scripture to see. He sent the report through using transportation scroll, and to his delight, it was sent to the wrong person.

It was sent to a person named Zesshi Zetsumei.

Somewhere In the Black Scripture, the captain of the organization was walking to his office. He was wondering when he could finally take a short vacation from all the work he had done.

The adventurers he captured were sent to Quaiesse and Zesshi to take care of. He was going to write a report about how that went. He always gives an account of the events. Even if it seemed unimportant, every detail mattered.

Every detail, including the one he was about to go into now.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a young woman with white and black bangs. It was Zesshi, of course. No one had a hairstyle like hers. He examined the young-looking women. She looked bored as always, with a Rubix Cube that only had the orange side solved on the floor.

She must have been having trouble solving it. He could complete it without any problem, but that did not matter right now. It is strange for her to be here.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hm, I thought you'd be more surprised to see me,"

"I am not, aren't you supposed to be busy at the moment?"

Zesshi was now standing, "Right, I almost forgot about them. They are quite strong, but weak compared to us."

"Well, of course, they are weaker than us."

"Yes, but with the right hereditary, these humans could rival gods. Don't you think?"

"If you're talking about Godkins, then yes. Humans like that are almost unrivaled in power."

He then walked by Zesshi without anything else to say. She was still staring at the commander, smiling at his dumbfoundedness. "You did not receive the report yet.. haven't you?"

"I don't recall missing any."

"Well, you do know of a human named Nabe then?"

The captain's eyes then snapped towards Zesshi, perhaps he knew what the woman was talking about. Her lips pause for a moment, but then bloomed into a smile when she watched his face turned gray.

"I guess you do know about her. I have to say you're quite lucky. I wish I could find someone strong who could-."

The captain interrupted Zesshi's speech and took the report in her hands out from her grip. He held it firmly with one hand. The words were scattered around the page. Its handwriting was ugly, and it looked exactly like Mr. Smiths'. He could barely read it, but in the second paragraph, he knew exactly what Mr. Smith was trying to write.

"Mr. Smith failed?"

"If you read some more, He says the mage named Nabe killed all of his elite minions in a single hit."

Ignoring what Zesshi had said, he read through the rest of the report. In the end, He found this to be an unbelievable discovery. The troops given to Mr. Smith were stronger than most human warriors in history. Only a large group of Adamantite adventurers could only dare face it.

The captain glazed his eyes at Zesshi once again. He was hoping this was a playful joke Zesshi was playing. In the end, he couldn't find it and decided to ask one question. "Is this a joke?"

She shook her head. "Why would I joke about this?

He then continued to walk again, and this time faster than before. Luckily, Zesshi grabbed his arm before he got a chance to escape her view. "Where are you going?"

"I am planning out a mission to investigate the mage caster,"

"You know, I have a better idea," She then took a sheet of paper she had in her pockets, "In the report, It said this person named Nabe will be heading towards one of the major cities in the Slane Theocracy.

"That is correct."

"So why don't I be the one to capture her?"

"Why….?" That seemed to surprise the commander slightly.

"Because of the recent death of Kaire, and the other seat holders. We can't risk losing any more forces."

"And?" That one word was like a shot of lightning for Zesshi

She blinked, she wasn't expecting a response like that. "How did you know?

He began walking again, and so did Zesshi. "Knowing you, there must be another reason."

The teenage-looking girl turned her back against the captain. She only had one exact reason for this behavior. Zesshi examined her feet and then her staff. It was leaning against the wall. The girl then shifted her feet and began to smile once more. "Because that human... sounds strong."

"That is a stupid reason."

"It is stupid, If I go out there now and get spotted, It could lead to the end of the Slane Theocracy."

"Then why ask this request."

"Just take this as a warning. This Nabe person is someone you cannot underestimate."

The captain then crossed his arms. He stared at the massive staff Zesshi had to the side of the wall and told her his opinion, "Right. "


	14. Chapter 11

The heat of the sun was burning through the clouds. Nothing could stop the sun's rays. Even though it was almost sunset, Narberal was struck how hot it was, but the weather didn't affect her. On the other hand, Aqua was falling behind. As a child, the physical stress of walking for hours took a toll on her.

"Let's go slug," Narberal said. The child was meters away from her now. Aqua could only nod in response and continue moving.

"Where are we going?"

"Well, first we need to find somewhere to rest. The capital should be at least a dozen miles north."

"Alright," Aqua said, lapsing back into silence. Narberal frowned in response. The child has been like this since they began their travels. As they walked down the dirt path, Narberal noticed the child stumbling occasionally.

"You're falling asleep, aren't you?"

Aqua didn't respond. The child must be near her limits. Usually, Narberal could solve this problem by summoning a horse. However, Lord Ainz told her not to use those resources. That included the emergency money.

This was most likely to punish her.

Narberal didn't think this would affect the mission too much. That was until she realized she had never been to the capital before. That meant she could not teleport there. She already used up most of her budget, traveling to Mr. Smith's mansion and buying supplies for the child. She could not take the items from the mansion as they were compromise, and the most of the food there was now poison. Thus, she had to buy some for the kid in a village. Now there was no money left to rent a horse. Lord Ainz likely placed those restrictions to teach her how to manage resources.

And now that she realized it, Narberal signed at her lack of foresight. She only thought about the cost expenses she would need to pay for and did not account for the child. But nonetheless, she continued to move on. For now, she had to worry about the kid behind her. She was surprised the child hasn't broken into tears again.

"It's getting late, can you keep going?"

"Yes, I can still move."

"Slug," Narberal said, The child was clearly lying. "If I don't know the well being of my client, then me being here is pointless."

Aqua nodded. Despite the child having the invisibility skill on, Narberal saw the girl's jaw clench; she was struggling to hold back the urge to fall. Narberal unequipped her pack and brought out a sleeping bag.

"Here," Narberal said, throwing a sleeping bag at the child. "You'll be warmer this way,"

The child nodded and fell asleep as soon she went into the blanket.

Placing the rest of the things in her bag. Narberal started a fire to keep both of them warm for the night. Although it would be better if she just carried Aqua instead of stopping for the night. She felt this was a better choice.

Since Narberal had to act like a human, it would be suspicious if one sees her traveling nonstop. Therefore Naberal and Lord Ainz sometimes had to make camp.

And once a small fire was set, Narberal sat down with her sword next to her side.

" _Hm,"_ Narberal thought with a whimper, " _This is really bad."_

Although nothing exciting happened the past day they've been traveling, Narberal kept on reflecting on her choice to take the child to the Slane Theocracy. Currently, the plan was for her to go to the capital city, and if the mission was too time-consuming, she would have to cancel it.

You might have guessed it already, but things weren't looking too good for her. She could still remember receiving the lecture from Lord Ainz. Only this time, Narberal didn't question any of his advice. She knew exactly what went wrong.

When making the deal to save all of those adventurers in exchange for Mr. Smith's life, Narberal already considered the possibility that Mr. Smith may have been actually tricking her into a trap.

If was it, depending on the severity, Narberal could simply deal with it herself or instantly notify Lord Ainz for backup if a level 100 monster suddenly appeared before her. They came up for that solution ever since the problem with Shalltear's mind control happened. Thus, back up would appear immediately if Narberal called for it. However, the chance of that happening was low, but the possibility of this mission being a set-up was not uncommon.

Those lowly lifeforms always drive in those types of thinking. The reason Narberal accepted that deal only because there she could save those adventurers so Lord Ainz's reputation would increase. The problem this, however, was that Narberal was doing too many things at once. That could cause mistakes, which is one of the reasons why Lord Ainz had gotten angry at her.

Narberal didn't consider that fact, but now she certainly understood it. She overestimated how much things she could do at once.

This was because she had to now take care of the child behind her. She was now a useless slug. The girl couldn't do anything she asked her. Although she does have this "brave" persona on her. When the child actually does something, the quality of doing the job is done terribly.

At least the child listened to her. Despite being told to move out right away, the child still followed the order with no hesitation. She even had a bag ready the moment the order was given.

Hopefully, the child brought something useful they could use. Narberal threw the kid's pack at her.

"Slug, do you have any extra coins? When daylight hits, I'll find a horse."

The girl stared at her bag for a few moments, not knowing what to do.

"What is it?" Narberal questioned,

Aqua then told the truth to her newfound caretaker.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you this, but a man named Alaric gave me a bag of coins and a letter earlier today."

"That's fine, can you count them? I will be renting a horse tomorrow if we have enough."

The child hesitated and then opened her mouth, "I can't count them."

Narberal looked stumped. "You can read flawlessly, but you cannot count?"

"Well, I can, I just don't know the currently around here." Aqua said, turning her back," I've never had the need for money."

"It looks like you have your priorities wrong."

Narberal took the bag from the child and slowly reached in to grab one coin. She was going to show Aqua how the currency works around here, but instead, she found a note inside.

She frowned upon seeing it and handed it to the child to read.

"A note, from whom?"

"A man named Alaric, read it."

The child opened the small piece of paper and blinked her eyes.

 **The First Message**

 **Dear Nabe,**

 **I see you have found some use for the bag of coins. I must apologize if this seems out of place, but I must thank you for saving us, adventurers. Here are some coins for your travels.**

 **I barely know you, and I do not know where you are going, but if you are still in need of help, then go to Quirky Valley and ask the Merchant Guild owner for some supplies. The person there will give you some for a fair price.**

 **Thanks again.**

 **Alaric Nobleman**

Aqua stuffed the note back into the bag while Narberal was scrambling to find a map. As much as she hated humans, she still needed the supplies.

If she was in a dire situation, Lord Ainz would happily give her permission to use items from the Tomb of Nazarick. However, Narberal wasn't in that condition, nor did she want to disappoint him.

And the best way to do that was to not waste any of his time. Therefore, this was the best opportunity.

By the moment she found the map, Aqua already guessed where the place could be.

"Miss Nabe," the girl said softly, "I think Quirky Valley might be near the capital city."

Narberal looked at the map to verify the child's answer. She clicked her tongue as a sign that the child was only partially correct.

"It's east of the capital city, and it is close. We're going there now."

You could imagine the human's reaction. A cold and blank stare was present on the kid's face.

"Miss. Nabe, can I stay out of the village and stay hidden in the cornfields when we get there? It might be dangerous, you know?"

"Fine."

The village was near, and it was pointless to rest here. The magic caster took the sleeping bag away from the girl and tucked it inside the child's pack. Though it was dangerous to travel in the dark, the moonlight was bright enough to see in the night.

 **The short Inn Visit**

Quirky Valley was not a town filled with valleys. Instead, It was a small town connected to multiple farms. Narberal knew that because there were people awake early in the morning, caring for their crops.

She entered the village using the dirt path where all the farmers were working. Along the way, there was a river used for transporting goods and trading. That was the place where the Merchant Guild was located. Because Aqua did not want to walk any longer, Narberal had the shadow demon guard the child outside the village.

It was a pain.

Narberal gave the child a teleportation scroll to call upon her if danger appears. It would have been easier to make the shadow demon carry Aqua along the village, but the child consistently said that it would be a bad idea for her to follow Narberal. She even brought out various reasons for her not to go to the village.

Narberal sign. It was like babysitting. Aqua said that it would be dangerous to go inside, but that is most certainly not the case. The village was safe. There were mostly farmers in the area, and there were even town guards around.

Narberal and Lord Ainz had to sometimes deal with this behavior from the humans as adventurers, but she never had to confront this situation by herself.

 _"Is the child scared of other humans?"_

That would make sense. The child had just witnessed a massacre of demi-humans and a betrayal. Not that Narberal care about the kid's mental state, it was only that she still needed the kid to be alive until she completed the mission.

It would be troublesome if the child were to run away from her.

But that might not be the case. Aqua had no signs of depression Lord Ainz taught her to look for in human clients.

That was why Narberal left her shadow demon to guard the kid and proceeded to head in the middle of the village.

This was a farmers' area, but the streets were mostly empty due to it being dark. Only the farm fields were still occupied by those working overtime, and the brightest building Narberal could see was a Merchant's Building.

It looked to also house travelers. Since the building was on the path to the capital city. The place must get plenty of business.

But that was an over-statement.

The building looked like a 3-star inn. For humans, that was the cost of living for the middle class, and for Narberal's expectations, that was horrible. But there still a possibility of getting something good. She took out the note to verify if this was the place.

And she was correct.

She looked both ways before entering to make sure there were no traps, or anyone was spying on her. Then, as she entered the building, there were only a few light sources that came from the lighten up lanterns. They were likely enchanted with magic to last long.

From both of her sides, tables and chairs were seen from her viewpoint. The Merchant Guild hosted a restaurant for consumers to eat and relax. And in front of her was the main counter.

Behind the counter was a staircase that led to the 2nd floor where the clients slept.

Almost all of the rooms looked occupied as there were signs labeling full upon on the front door.

That was the reason the main counter had only one person working there. Not much business goes on during the night. Therefore, this was the best time to slack off.

Yes, the only employer working there was sleeping.

It was a woman who looked like she was in her late twenties. Narberal rang the bell that was on the table to wake the human. The lady frowned at first, only opening one eye to see who it was.

"It's 5 silver coins for a night."

"I am not here to stay."

The innkeeper's other eye opened. Narberal brought out the note and gave it to the woman. She sighed in relief.

"Thank god, I thought you were the tax collector."

"A man named Alaric told me I could find some supplies here."

"You know, Alaric?" The woman's face began to brighten, "You must be Nabe, you're the adventurer who saved him!"

Narberal frowned, news travels fast apparently. The woman quickly bowed her head in thanks.

"My name is Nemel Gran, and I am the owner of this buiding. Alaric is a friend of mine. He sent me a message you might be coming here and said there was something he wanted to give you for saving him."

"I suppose that will be the supplies, correct?"

The woman nodded slightly in a sarcastic way.

"Well, actually, he wanted to have a duel with you."

 _"Ah,"_

Narberal placed her hand over her face. She should have killed him. Since she did not, that adventurer now has something against her and possibly Lord Ainz.

"I see you two do not get along."

"Since you're telling me this, that means this fool does this quite often."

"That's right, It is so annoying. He is simply going to waste his time."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"Because you saved him. It's only natural. And don't worry, I'll just tell him you guys didn't come here."

Narberal nodded her head. At least this person was not as foolish as Alaric. Yet, this was a waste of time. At least this place was in the path of where Lord Ainz rests aside.

If Narberal continuously travels on foot, she could make up for the lost time. But she still had to consider the child's physical state and what the other lowly humans would think of her.

"It looks like you are in a rush, I can reward you with a horse?"

"A horse?"

That answer made Nemel stand up. The lady turned her head towards Narberal as a sign to follow her.

"Don't worry, this is an apology for wasting your time. Besides, this would hardly affect this place's income."

"What you do you sell here then?"

When she first entered the building, this place looked more like an inn rather than a merchant guild and assumed nothing here would be in an exceptional value.

Yet this human beg to say otherwise.

"I built this place from bottom-up, and currently, I am involved in trading and stocking in high-quality gear for strong adventurers."

"Anything else?"

Narberal wanted to change the subject, this human was obviously advertising her items.

"Of course, we do trade with other merchants in ores and such. If you need a supporter or a trader, just come here. I will be glad to help."

"Good, but let's start off small."

"Oh, yes, the horse."

Through the back door, she led the magic caster to a shed about a hundred meters away from the Inn. The building was surrounded by potato crops, and a horse was waiting nearby in the animal stalls.

"He's a nice one, the best we have,"

Narberal nodded only to be nice. There were much better horses out there, but she couldn't complain.

Quickly she got on the animal to test its handling.

"Thank you for your gift, It would serve well."

"You are going, already?"

Nemel looked quite depressed. If Narberal had stayed here for the night, the woman would have likely gone mad in trying to sell her products to her. You could tell this lady would have done that just from looking at her face.

Well, at least Narberal tended to have that feeling. Since she was wearing her Adamantite plate, this lady probably thinks she and Lord Ainz had boatloads of money.

"I am on a mission, I don't have time to stay here."

"Okay, just make sure to tell your friends about this place… oh, and do you see that Horse tattoo on the beast your riding? Make sure you tell your buddies that you brought this horse from here."

No response.

Narberal desperately wanted to shut this person's mouth up.

* * *

Fun fact, Nemel was Jet(Alaric) childhood friend in the web novel.

Also, another fun fact I estimated how much the middle-class inns cost using the Overlord wiki. Going by what they stated. One silver coin basically is worth around 9 USA dollars. In other words, it cost around 45 dollars to stay in Nemel's merchant guild

However, since skilled craftsmen only get around 1 sliver coin a day from work. I might change that little fact of how much middle-class inns cost.


	15. Chapter 12

It was morning, and the horse increased the travel time. Enough that Narberal had time to take a break to rest yesterday night.

Not that she needed it, Narberal simply had to make sure the child was ready to travel in the morning. With that settled, they headed off early in the morning, and Narberal was already near the location Lord Ainz told her to meet.

It was at a top-rated hotel, she questioned this, but realized his reasons. Since they were near the capital, many nobles may rest aside here. Because of that, Momon and Nabe have to "show off" their power in wealth.

If any noble found out Momon, the greatest adventurer in this country, was living off the land in cheap hotels, he may become a laughingstock to the nobles.

It was troublesome, but it was necessary. Once someone finds something terrible about you, they always take advantage of it. That was the reason Lord Ainz's base of operation was outside of the city.

Nothing was there besides small villages and farmland that surrounded the capital. It would be a simple job looking for a 5-star hotel in this environment, but It took more time than Narberal thought to find the place.

"Over there," Aqua pointed.

What the child pointed to was not a building, but towards a big hamster with a very long tail. They were 50 meters from the hotel, but the legendary beast still stood out within the fields of corn.

As Narberal expected for the child to react. Often, people view Hamsuke with great respect when they see him. Or at least they would at least pay more attention to him rather than the attractive building that he rest aside in.

"I have never seen an animal that looked so powerful."

"He's Momon pet."

"Who's Momon again?"

However, it appeared that statement was opposite to Lord Ainz. Despite him not being outside, Aqua should have at least remembered his name by now.

"Slug," Narberal frowned at that question," Momon is the leader of my group. He is the strongest adventurer in this land."

"I see."

Narberal paused. She was waiting for the child to praise her lord, but nothing like that came from the child's month.

"Don't you remember him?"

The child shook her head twice. Narberal wanted to kick the child off the horse. Everyone here should already know who he was.

"Momon can be described as the most powerful and perfect person, I know. His wisdom surpasses any scholar or god."

Aqua didn't flinch. Her eyes were still looking at Hamsuke.

"I think I like that animal."

Narberal's eyes grew dark. Anyone who does not realize Lord Ainz's greatness should be eliminated. Instead, she turned away from the child and continued moving towards Hamsuke. It was pointless to argue with the child. If you could compare her attitude towards humans from the start of her time as an adventurer, you may see a different, but in reality, she only got better at acting.

Upon reaching the inn, Narberal took the first step off the horse and walked towards Lord Ainz's pet. Hamsuke was at the back of the building since it wasn't big enough to house a large animal like her.

She was with the other horses. Despite being from different species, they seemed to behave themselves well. Most likely, the horses had respect for Hamsuke. Even those of lesser intelligence had the senses to tell if someone was strong.

Well, that only applied to certain situations that they were trained for. Hamsuke was still known to be feared and respected as the wise king of the forest throughout the kingdom.

Since this was a 5-star hotel, only the rich lived here. With that, highly trained horses were purchased. They were likely smarter than the average breed who were trained to not back down in the face of fear.

And because they were highly trained in that aspect. They must be kept in peak conditions. In the animal stalls, they rest aside, it looked quite fancy.

The floors were made of what you'll see a regular stall. But here it looked rather well kept.

It also looked like Hamsuke was having a good time staying in that pile of filth.

Well, she was not resting in filth, it was only that Narberal thought of the slightly dirty floors to be trash.

"Hamsuke."

There was no response.

"Where is Momon?"

Immediately as she said those words, Hamsuke opened both of her eyes.

"Oh, you wanna speak to master. He is inside the building and is counting the money he earned from his last job."

"I see, get out of this dirty stall and watch the human child on the horse over there. I am going to meet Momon now."

Narberal didn't want the child to go inside for security reasons. It was common sense for her. Just in case, Hamsuke doesn't do her job, Narberal ordered the shadow demon to watch the kid and went inside.

There were several nobles there. Not enough to fill the room, simply, there were only several humans standing in line to request for a room.

There were also several guards there.

They were most likely the guards of the nobles. As soon as they saw her, they block her way until they saw her Adamantite plate. That title always helped in situations like this.

That plate symbolizes that one was considered a hero of humanity.

The guards blocked her way to make sure she wasn't an assassin. Obviously, they could have had some other motives, but even if the nobles were rude or lusting for money, they would not be stupid enough to angry those at the peak of humanity.

But even those who have super-human strength still had to wait in line.

Yet, she didn't need to.

Since Lord Ainz already registered themselves a room, Narberal simply headed to the 2nd floor where her lord rests aside.

His chin nearly dipped to his chest as she opened the door, "Pardon me, Mr…. Momon…"

In public, Lord Ainz told Narberal to address him differently, and it seemed she gotten the wording wrong.

As Lord Ainz waved his hand around his face.

The room was small and simple but was still in better condition than most places. Lord Ainz was counting the money as Hamsuke had told her, and it seemed he was about done.

"Don't mind this. I am counting the money need we need for Nazarick."

"I see, should I get that done?"

"No, that matter can be for later."

"Understood, If we need a trading merchant. There are some trustful ones in a village nearby named Quirky Valley."

"Oh, did you make any connections with anyone there?"

"No, I simply built trust with them for the fact in my last mission, I saved several adventurers, and their family thanks me because of that.

Lord Ainz looked slightly taken back by that statement.

"Hm, I see, if you have time, see if they handle a trading request I'm planning to do."

"Understood."

He gave Narberal a note of the trading request and then pulled up the window curtains. From this view, you can see the entire beauty of the farmland and nature around the area, but Lord Ainz didn't open the curtains to see that.

Across the partial stone road, Lord Ainz spotted a child by a horse stands. Despite her having an invisibility spell on, it was only made up of low tier magic. Any high level being like Lord Ainz can bypass that weak illusion.

"Is that the kid?" he asked.

"It is."

"Then, the new plan will work."

Lord Ainz placed his hand outward and handed Narberal a bag of messages. They from the princess, but were not contained in a particular case. Most likely to not give away the fact it was something important.

"You already meet with the princess and that noble?"

"She was a… unique person. You should be careful around her."

"As expected of… Momon, are we still doing that plan?" Narberal said, ignoring to address the princess issue.

He nodded and did several hints to Narberal not to talk about Jaldabaoth here.

"We'll be busy. It'll be wise if you leave her to a childcare protection service."

"Childcare?"

Lord Ainz turned and revisited that answer.

"Right, they don't have government services like that in this country."

"Shouldn't we leave the child here or with Sebes then?"

"No, "Lord Ainz said while looking at a map. "I look over the messages and one of the people you need to send a letter to works at a swordsmanship school. Many other trainers teach there as well, and it looks like the school provides protection services. You can send the letter and the child there to stay until our mission is completed."

Narberal nodded to his words and opened the bag. There were only two letters. She looked over them and found the correct one. It was addressed to a man named Vesture.

"Nabe, have you heard of him?"

Lord Ainz walked forward, looking at the letter Narberal was holding.

"No, I have not."

"You remember Clementine, right? She considered him one of the only high-level warriors able to fight her. He's the owner of that school."

"I don't think we should be calling them high leveled."

"In human standards, they are powerful."

"Understood,"

Narberal slightly signed. Not in front of Lord Ainz, of course. She didn't like calling humans high level or complimenting them in anything as a matter of fact. She does like to compare humans to which one is weaker, but other than that. She doesn't care for them, not even bothering to remember most of their names.

But if she were ordered to remember them, then, by all means, she would.

"Nabe, It appears he runs the swordsmanship school with several other masters. However, that man is described to be a rigorous person who only trains those who interest him. I have not done much research on him besides that, but make sure to not get on his bad side. If he declines to do what the princess asks him to do, then it will be fine, but I would prefer if he does what the letter asks him to do."

Narberal nodded.

"And remember, if you are going to spy or gather information on others, always hide your presence or the shadows demon's with the use of the scrolls I gave you."

"Yes, sir."

Lord Ainz then went to his seat and handed Narberal some coins.

"And the child, here the fees to pay for the humans to watch that kid. I will be meeting with the others to plan our mission. Once you're done, meet with me here."

With that done, Narberal left Lord Ainz and met with the child outside. Lord Ainz was likely going to meet with the Demiurge to discuss the plan he constructed, so of course, he'll need to tell Demiurge more about it since the due date was coming near.

Narberal, still holding the bag, then took out a map to location Vesture's address. He lived in the school he teaches in.

That swordmaster did have his own house, but in the letter, it only showed the school's address instead of his home.

He must be dedicated to his work, but that does not matter.

All she has to do is slip the small piece of paper into the school. After that, she can join Lord Ainz's mission. But for the time being, she will have to babysit the child. Although watching the human was hard in the past few days. The kid's lonesome personality was not present anymore.

"Aqua, watch your back."

However, her lack of self-esteem was still present. A wagon was coming down the road, and neither the child nor the sleeping Hamsuke noticed it. While it is usually safe near a city, She still had an uncomfortable feeling for the girl being behind her. Narberal's abilities as a magic caster were not suited for body guarding.

In response to Narberal's words, the child and the horse moved next to her again. They were on the path to the school.

It was close. On horseback, it only took them 10 minutes to arrive there.

The school looked like it was built with the design of having research and training facility mixed into it. And what gave away was the presence of a unique tree. Lord Ainz told Narberal to look for it. The tree was small, but it looked nothing normal. The pedals on the twigs gave it an eerie feeling to which Narberal could sense.

Behind the tree were a 1-meter tall fence and the main building. The property had a tall hill in the back, and the school looked as if it could house 100 students at once.

But with only a few teachers, the numbers would be less… probably.

"Miss Nabe," the child spoke, "Someone is coming."

There was a shadow near the front door, and It slowly opened to what appeared to be a man looking in his 50's.

"It's Vesture," Aqua said, pointing. The door opened, and what appeared was a man who had hair that was somewhat white along with a short sword on his side. His eyes were dark, and his posture was slightly weak, but his arms were full of muscle.

 _"That's him?"_ Narberal questioned, the man looked nothing like what she'd imagined. She was picturing him to be someone like Gazef, but she was wrong. The human was shorter than the average height. Yet, his looks gave a feeling of fear. This was due to the lend muscles on his body. Although they were not monstrous, that gave away the fact that this man was not retired, but someone whose been constantly training themselves.

It did not matter how a human looked like Narberal for the most part, but it seems that Aqua was slightly scared at that person.

Both of them, then disengaged from the horse, and Narberal walked up to Vesture. It seemed he was waiting for them.

"My name is Nabe. I am an Adamantite adventurer assigned to give you this Letter."

"I know, my name is Vesture. The princess notified me a few days earlier."

"Then, that would make things faster."

Narberal unwinded the invisibility spell activated on Aqua and pointed to the child. She then handed out a few silver and gold coins and a letter.

"I heard this school offers protection services. I want you to take care of this child until I come back."

"I see, first, let us get the security produces out of the way."

Aqua tucked on Narberal's cloak.

"Do I have to go inside?"

The child softly spoke.

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Is the child shy? Vesture spoke, "Don't worry, only me and a few others are being to be here for the next few days."

Aqua signed in relief.

Narberal then pushed the child inside and continued to follow the man. The building was only two stories high but was still large compared to other houses. Inside there were no students. The school must have been on a break, and that was perfect. There would not be any time wasted. The only thing she'll have to worry about is getting the child and the letter off her hands. Then she could join Lord Ainz.

"Where are we walking to?" Narberal asked.

"To the office room, just to make sure your Nabe."

"I can prove it right now."

"Its basic procedure, everyone must follow these rules."

He opened the door and let Narberal and the child in. The room contained furniture that you'll see in a typical waiting room.

He and the two others, then sat, and Vesture grabbed a slim folder that was on the coffee table.

"This should not take too long; all you have to do is sign these papers."

Vesture looked at the documents contained in the folder and handed them to Narberal.

"The papers in the back are for the child. The kid doesn't look like a relative. Is she a friend?"

"No, its confidential business," Narberal said, giving the letter to Vesture.

"Then, excuse me, I have to deliver something. I will be gone for about five minutes."

Vesture then left the room and Narberal gazed over the papers. It was a good thing Lord Ainz told her to learn this world's language; otherwise, this situation may have become dire.

She could have simply given the files to the child, but that would give off a bad reputation for Lord Ainz and herself if one saw her. Therefore, Narberal looked at the papers.

And she could not understand any of the words.

"Slug," Narberal whispered," Do this paperwork."

"Are you having trouble reading it?"

Narberal covered the kid's mouth with Vesture's back turned on them.

"Don't discuss my reading skills here, and yes, I am having some difficulty with it."

The child nodded while taking the papers, and Narberal signed in relief.

"What are you going to do in the meantime?"

"Basic security procedures."

Narberal wanted to make sure this building was safe enough. Even if it was, she still plans on having the shadow demon watch over the human child.

That was the reason it appeared in the darkest part of the room. Aqua didn't mind that monster too much. After hiding outside Quirky Village, she met the shadow demon and was already used to its abilities.

"Should I scan the area and the other humans here for any dangerous behaviors?"

The demon spoke, and Narberal directed its orders.

"Yes,"

Before the shadow demon could move, Aqua softly spoke.

"Wait, I just read some of the rules. And it says it is against the law to stalk or give client information away, even if they are children."

"I see,"

Often orphanages or protection services have these rules to serve as a reason for people to trust them. Without this, business in protecting others would be questioned and would be far less profitable. But since these rules are now in place, these services are quite popular around the country.

Even the government of the Re-Estize Kingdom has valued these organizations.

If these laws were to be broken, for example, that could lead to a government fee or even jail time. But that was only if one was caught.

"Shadow demon, go scan the school and the other humans for anything dangerous, and when you are done, come back to the child or me."

Through that was a risky decision. Almost no human should be able to spot a shadow demon. And even if one did have the ability, finding a mage who specializes in illusions is rare in this world.

But just in case, she should do what Lord Ainz told her. That was to make sure no one would be able to spot the shadow demon. You can never be too careful. Thus she used the scroll Lord Ainz gave her to hide the Shadows Demon's appearance, and it quickly disappeared into the shadows.

And it was a good thing Narberal first told the shadow demons its orders. Vesture came already back.

She quickly handed the sign-up and conformation papers back to him.

"You are already back."

"Yes, I did not think I would back so soon."

Narberal was about to tell Aqua to go with the man, but that was interrupted.

"Are there other kids here too?" Aqua spoke

"Yes," Vesture said, grabbing the papers.

"Can I ask if there is a private room available?"

That was greedy to ask this question. Unlike in rich countries, orphanages usually do not have single bedrooms for children. Since this place was not even specified for kids or for housing. The thought of asking that question can be almost described as ignorant.

"This is not an inn, but we can provide a single room for the client for protection reasons."

"That will be fine," Narberal spoke. She gave a look at the child to follow Vesture. But then her eyes gazed at something familiar.

" _What is this?"_

There was a trash bin by the child. The letter Vesture read was in the container. If he were to dispose of it, it would be wiser to throw it into flames rather than leave it out in the open.

"May I ask what the letter is about?"

"You're a curious one, aren't you?" the man said, "Nothing important, the golden princess simply requested me to join her in a meeting."

"Is that a problem?"

"Yes, I am retired. It is too late for me to be involved in the kingdom mess again."

"So it is," Narberal said, as she stood up. Aqua noticed, but didn't follow and instead grabbed on to the back of her cloak.

"Miss Nabe wait," Aqua whispered, "This is a request from the princess, don't you think Vesture should at least meet with her?"

Narberal signed, the request was only to send the letters, and the princess never said anything about forcing the receivers to do what they were asked. But still, Lord Ainz did say he'll prefer if Vesture does the latter. It might be troublesome if that does not happen.

Therefore, Narberal turned and ordered a command.

"You should go to the meeting, Vesture."

"Didn't I tell you I'm retired?"

"Yes, you did."

It was just a meeting. Narberal wondered why the man was like this, but no ideas could come up.

" _What this man's problem?"_

Narberal did not have time to deal with this insect.

"Sir," She said, her patience was getting low, "If you tell me the problem, if my group may be able to fix it."

Vesture eyes turned to her.

"First, we should start fixing your group's ideals," He then grabbed his bag and pointed at a wall.

"I heard you through the walls. A mage who controls a demon that was going around this school, breaking the rules of the adventurer guide. That is very problematic, don't you think?"

Narberal face dropped, In the direction Vesture was pointing at was towards another room. She did not place in any anti-hearing magic around the area yet. Therefore, she knew precisely what happened. Lord Ainz warned her about this. He didn't directly say it. He only ordered to hide her or the shadow demon's presence when spying.

But yet, there was a hidden meaning behind those words. Narberal finally understood it. Never do anything dangerous unless you have all types of anti-measures at your hand. She should have figured that out when she made that mistake when trying to spy on Clementine and Khajiit a few weeks earlier. But now, since Narberal didn't understand the true meaning of Lord Ainz's words, this event has come to haunt her.

Vesture started to walk down the hallway, "You are welcome to stay for the night with the child, but if I see you here again in the morning, you'll regret it,"

The door was then closed.

Narberal knew she just made a mistake. The door was at the back of the room, and she quickly opened it to talk to the man again, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Aqua," Narberal ordered, "Stay here."

The child blinked in response, but her caretaker was already gone when she opened her eyes again.

* * *

Just to clarify, these events take place around season 2 just before Durimruge attacks Re-Etriza. Narberal was also referring to her time when she didn't take anti-measures when spying on Kalaf and Clementine in season one.

Also, fun fact, one coin in the new world equals to 100,000 yen, which equals to around 910 USD dollars. Which means Narberal just paid Vesture at least 1000 dollars for him to guard the kid. This kinda makes sense as Vesture was a well known Adamantite adventurer in the canon overlord timeline.


	16. Chapter 13

Somewhere in the Black Scripture, there were two men in a walled-off basement. They were the only ones there and looked to be sparing. One of them was named Cedran. He had dual shields, and the other one was called Beaumarchais. He had weapons with the appearance of chains.

Only a few weeks ago, they were dead, killed by a powerful vampire, and now they were training to regain the strength they had lost. At this moment, they would be on the level similar to Gazef. Usually, it would be hard for one to reach their peak after death. Training helps, and with the knowledge of the Slane Theocracy, the process will be faster.

But Cedran and Beaumarchais could not plainly regain all their past strength. They will likely be replaced, and new seats would be elected. However, their influence will not be forgotten.

They are still elite members of the country, and because of being former seats of the Black Scripture, they will still be assigned dangerous tasks.

And If Beaumarchais keeps this up, he may even regain his seat as the 9th member. He is still young and in his prime. Cedran, on the other hand, is much older, nearing the age of 50. By looking at the scars and wrinkles on his face, you can see his appearance is terrifying, and many could tell he was far from his prime.

However, the muscles in Cedran's arms were still mighty enough to use the dual shields. But who knows how long he can keep that up. Most would say he would have twenty years at best. That is not including the fact he'll no longer be an elite soldier. That is why Beaumarchais still has a chance to regain his position, but because of his young age, he doesn't have as much combat experience.

But power is still a substantial factor in a fight. For example, in this dual, you might say Beaumarchais would win because he was younger, and his speed is almost on the same tier as Clementines. However, because he focuses on the offensive, his defensive abilities were as weak as a Mythril adventurer.

To an average human's eye, no one would notice this weakness. But still, for experienced opponents like Cedran, it was apparent what the outcome of the fight will be.

His defensive abilities were exceptional in power and defense. It rivaled the likes of a death knight despite the level difference, but in this fight, that doesn't matter if he cannot hit Beaumarchais.

But of course, he had a plan when he comes across someone like him. Beaumarchais chanted some martial skills to get past that barrier of duel shields and found one opening and pressed on to it.

But it was a trap, and before he knew it, his eyes were staring at the roof.

"I got you," Cedran said, giving a hand to him.

He signed and got up. They've been training ever since they've been revived, and Cedran won every time they fought.

It was a mismatch, but it was adequate training.

They continued training until they saw their captain coming down the stairs.

"Good evening," their captain said, "Are both of you doing well?"

"Yes, we are, but it seems Beaumarchais needs a little more work."

"No, You just happen to be the worst opponent for someone like me."

The captain smirked, "It seems you two are doing well."

Cedran nodded, "By the way, why did you come down here? You rarely have time for that."

"Yes, back to business," The captain said, pulling out a sheet of paper. "Follow me. The meeting will be starting soon."

Both of their faces lost traces of joy as those words came out.

"I see you finally found someone strong."

The captain nodded. The primary purpose of Mr. Smith's mission was to find strong adventurers and convert them into their system. But in Nabe's case, this was different. She was one of the strongest they've encountered. The Black Scripture had told of this information to the other branches, and the meeting was to be done here.

Inside the holy grounds and in the conference room, some of the members of The Windflower Sculpture were there. Next to them were some of the members of the Black Scripture. To be exact, only half of them were there. Some of them were busy, and the meeting wasn't worth throwing everything away to see. Of course, if they were ordered to come, then all means would. It was only that the meeting did not have the utmost importance at this time. Not even the high-ranked members of the scriptures were here, but it was still worth to come.

As the eldest sat in the front seat, the captain went by his side. After those two followed, Cedran and Beaumarchais sat down.

The eldest then nodded to begin.

"Report,"

"Right," the captain said, looking at the papers. "To start, the plan to eliminate Gazef Stronoff failed, and as we propose in the last meeting, we should neutralize Vesture Kloff Di Laufen."

The crowd around the round table muttered secretly. Some were against this idea, but the man known as Vesture broke one of the most important rules in their organization.

"Isn't Raymond still against this?" Cedran asked.

The eldest stood up and pointed to his direction.

"Personal feelings are prohibited. Vesture helped our organization in the past, but that does not excuse the treason he committed."

The man looked towards the Windflower sculpture. And with a magical screen shown in the middle of the table, the location of the sword-master was marked on the map.

"Three seats should be more than enough."

"Why are we neutralizing him now? He left the organization, dozens of years ago."

"That is the reason we are having this meeting. The failure to capture Gazef was done by a mysterious foe named Ainz Ooal Gown, and recently, one of our members from the Holocaust Scripture had their plans folded by an adventurer named Nabe. The one responsible for the mission, Mr. Smith, sent a report to us, explaining the power this one person may have."

One of the members of the Windflower Sculpture then came forth.

"We believe Vesture is giving secret information out to these adventurers and to his former students, but more importantly, Nabe is a member of a group called Darkness. They have recently formed their group. However, they have already had done many achievements, such as killing Clementine and the magic caster named Khajiit. There are also rumors of Momon killing a similar vampire the Black Scripture encountered. However, our group still needs some more time to investigate this matter."

The eldest one grasps his hand, "It is hardly believable Momon killed the vampire and Clementine. Is it possible Vesture is helping them too?"

"The rumors say Momon used a legendary item to defeat both of them. Therefore, if we account for his other achievements, we have estimated his power to be comparable to a low tier Godkin or to an elite warrior able to use Blood Bane. The person named Nabe is likely one or the other as well."

"The difference in power between Godkins can differ from each other." The lead investigator said, "The adventurer Momon has already gained great fame upon the lands, but his comrade, Nabe, is overshadowed by his charm and strength."

"This means we won't have to worry about the public knowing about this," The elder said, "I propose we sent a team to neutralize Vesture, and in the meantime, bring the information about Nabe to the upper ranks to investigate her. For now, I propose to leave Momon alone. He is too much of a public figure,"

The captain nodded in agreement, and the others did as well.

"Based on the information we gathered, we concluded Vesture isn't as strong as he was in the past. Unlike in his past self, he was able to rival the former 3rdseat, Raymond, but now he should be easily dealt with for obvious reasons. But Nabe is a different matter. We concluded that she would be able to use at least 6th tier magic."

"6th tier magic? That's ridiculous. We are only able to perform 7th tier magic or higher with days of preparations,"

"Yes, in the battle where Clementine was killed, one of our data collectors believes Nabe fought a skeletal dragon. We found the remains in the forest."

"Don't you need 7th tier magic or higher to defeat those dragons?"

"We believe the dragons summoned were weaker than normal due to the lack of magical energy we found in the area,"

"Then it was wise for Mr. Smith not to enrage her,"

The captain nodded, and the room went quiet until the elder spoke again, "Capturing Nabe will give us many new things to learn and receive, whoever disagrees with this plan stand up,"

No one stood.

"With Nabe gone, Momon may become a problem. We will need to write a cover-up story to be successful. This way we will not have to worry about him for the time being,"

The captain signed, "Capturing of this adventurer must be done stealthily. Since the Sunlight Scripture is still being rebuilt, we can only have a few of our members for this mission,"

One of the magic casters stood up, "That adventurer can possibly use 7th tier magic,"

"Yes, instead of fighting her head-on, it would be best to capture the mage."

"Don't tell me we should use the Downfall of Castle and Country?"

"No, we should use Crystal of Obloquy."

"But, It took years to create that item, don't you think we should save it for later?"

The captain shook his head. "This is the best choice, using Downfall of Castle is too risky, we cannot afford to lose one of the gifts the Six Great Gods had given us. And of course, whoever is going must use armor greatly resistant to lightning magic and is enchanted with wild magic."

"Agreed, since Nabe is a lightning-based caster, her physical strength shouldn't be great."

"Then, it is settled. We will plan a capture team to neutralize Vesture and investigate this adventurer, but further planning will be wise before we set out to do anything against her."

The group then settled down as the plan to neutralize Vesture as just begun.

* * *

Vesture was sitting outside on the hilltop by the school for most of the night, reading and writing some papers with a lantern by his side. And Narberal was getting tired of waiting for him to respond to her presence. Especially since it took some time to find him. Anti-teleportation and alert magic were activated around this school, which meant Narberal could not simply teleport everywhere she pleased. Of course, she turned them off to find Vesture but had no luck talking to him so far.

She tried approaching him in a noble matter at first, and obviously that didn't work, and she insulted him accidentally.

"Insect" was the word she had called him. That habit of her to call humans by that name suddenly slipped out of nowhere. Thus, that kicked her out of the building, and now she was outside, not knowing what to do. She could simply leave, but now that Vesture has the impression she is an ignorant adventurer, she must change that opinion of his. The only problem was that Narberal did not know how to do that.

Vesture frowned. Occasionally he turned his back to at a glance at her. He must be wondering how she was able to become an adventurer in the first place. Narberal could say she was the type of mage how could use magic based on a "feeling." Some types of mages do drive into that field, but that would be foolish to say as an Adamantite adventurer.

Narberal still had to keep the persona of being a competent magic caster who doesn't merely rely on a "feeling." Citizens often look up to powerful humans who know the source of their strength. If Narberal said she simply had the talent to use 5th tier magic out of nowhere, doubts would arise in her combat abilities.

She also had to deal with the fact Vesture had witnessed her break the law about keeping a client's personal information a secret. It could be broken if a situation occurs, but this was not the case.

"Nabe," Vesture said, "That's your name, correct?"

"Yes," Narberal responded, finally he had said something,

"I am surprised you're still standing here, I have been rude to you, so I apologize for that. The reason I can't meet the princess is because of personal problems, not because of you or the princess."

Narberal smiled. This was a perfect opportunity to clear her name. If she first convinces Vesture to meet with the princess, then doubts of her ability would disappear.

"Vesture it's from the princess, the meeting must be important."

"Not everything is important, besides, shouldn't you be worried about some else too?"

Narberal knew he was going to address that statement at some point, but still could not come up with a good excuse.

"Well, since you are so determined to apologize, I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself."

Vesture turned to look at the sky to check if daylight coming. However, it was not. He could see the farmland from the hill he was standing on, and none of the farmers were up.

"Since the sun is not out yet, want to spar with me?"

"You will die."

"Mmm, don't underestimate me yet. I'll tell you what, if you can beat me only using a sword and without magic, then I'll forgive you breaking the guild's law."

"And what if I lose?"

"You'll lose nothing."

The man brought out his weapon. It was a well-made blade. Not as well-made as the kingdom's treasure or the sword Timothy had, but it was still a sight to see. In response to this, Narberal brought out her own sword. Its white color reflected upon the moonlight as she set her eyes on Vesture.

" _This insect must be doing this to test if I am as strong as people say."_

Things were going better than Narberal thought. If she wins this duel, her ability as an adventurer would not be questioned anymore by him.

But she still had to find a way to prove there was a reason to meet with the princess.

"You can start anytime you like, but I must ask you. What do you think about the duties of an Adamantite adventurer?"

Narberal's eyebrows went up in question.

"Not to be irrelevant, but I had read the documents about you and the history of your group."

"And?"

Vesture turned towards her and lowered his sword.

"I have doubts about the latest Adamantite and Orichalcum groups in this country. Most adventurers besides Blue Rose and a few others avoid political conflicts, and instead, most groups are in it for money and fame. It's still good to have them around, but those groups can decide the fate of kingdoms, battles, or even wars with their influence."

He stood up, "But because they don't, this country and the surrounding nations have only become more corrupt."

" _I see,"_ Narberal calmed down. She realized the other reason why Lord Ainz is doing Project Jaldabaoth. They have only done small things until now. Once they complete this mission, this old man's opinion would change.

"We are different. Our current involvement is helping others and the kingdom itself."

He raised his sword up, "Hm, so guarding nobles, killing random ogres in a forest, and breaking laws is helping this country?"

Narberal stared at him. She clenched her teeth. It was partially true She and Lord Ainz never tried to make a significant influence in this country yet. But couldn't this man see it requires time for them to do that? She knew Lord Ainz was trying his best to make his name. Yet this man could not see it.

To change that opinion, Narberal must win this duel no matter what. Even if she has to beat him up, after the spar, he'll see the greatness in her and in Momon's power.

Narberal paused and raised her weapon. He might question why her physical strength is so great as a mage, but that did not matter right now.

[Ability boost, Defense boost]

Narberal muttered those enchantment spells. Vesture didn't question it, and she made the first move. With the boost from the spells, Narberal physical abilities were likely at the peak of what an Orichalcum adventurer could activate. Since this man was retired, his strength likely fell below hers and aggressively made her move.

Swords in hands, they clashed. Vesture made it in time. He clenched his teeth together as the power struggle began. Feeling the inhuman power in the strike, he parried the sudden bind of tension.

" _Ngn!"_

His sword was now above hers.

Narberal had to admit Vesture was a good sword fighter. His weapon already bypassed her sword, and therefore, she retreated a meter away.

But before she could move from her position, Vesture kicked swiftly.

He hit nothing. No one was there.

Narberal wasn't much of a sword fighter. If you consider her physical stats, she would only be around level 24. Plus At the start, her form was off. And the way she clashed with his sword was powerful, but lacking in balance. Any expert swordsmen would likely spot this flaw. Similar to how Lord Ainz battled with Clementine.

Thus, Narberal knew she had a disadvantage. But the level gap between them was massive. This fight shouldn't last too long. Her speed should be much greater than Vesture's; all she needed to do was hit him from behind.

Vesture swung his blade and caught her sword.

" _What?"_

Quickly, Narberal shrugged off the blow to her sword. That counter-attack was a surprise. No, it was truly unexpected. The power behind that blow felt just below the tier of physical strength Lord Ainz had without [perfect warrior]. No, she may have been high balling his strength too much. When Narberal first came in contact with his sword, there wasn't too much force within that clash. Well, he could have been not using too much force at the start since Narberal was a magic caster. That was likely the case. He's starting to get serious.

If Narberal accounts for the factors of martial arts. Vesture's strength would greatly surpass Narberal's physical abilities. But not in terms of her speed or reaction time.

That was how she was going to beat Vesture. She knew it would take him a moment to attack again.

Narberal swing left, one hit, and he will be too injured to continue.

But there was a sudden noise of steel.

Vesture's blade whined, knocking her shining blade aside with a ringing crash. Without stopping, he swung the weapon half a circle to knock Narberal off her feet. Instead of her falling, she twisted her neck aside, barely in time to avoid being hit.

Vesture then charged straight at her, applying his full strength to his legs. Narberal tired to rebalance herself, but the pressure of Vesture made her react differently. She swung her sword uprightly and felt her foot going off balance.

Without using any martial arts, this would leave one wide open, and Narberal didn't know any. What made it worse was that Vesture dodged that attack.

" _I thought I hit him."_

Was it a martial art? Even if it was, Narberal was sure that she hit him, but she could not keep thinking about that. The only way to get out of this was to teleport.

However, his eyes followed her hand movements. He kicked upwards to slow the time cast, and with his sword, Vesture swung his blade again, and Narberal found a weapon hanging by her stomach.

It was over. It only took a few seconds for Vesture to disarm Narberal. In the millisecond Vesture stopped his blade, Narberal flew a few meters away from him.

She stared at Vesture for a few good moments and was left with a cardboard face intact, but was surprised inside. Narberal couldn't believe herself. The fact that a lowly human had struck her sword down in melee combat was humiliating. She must kill him before he spreads any rumors about this. His sword attacks likely were too low in power to do any damage to her, but it still must be done.

"You can't win with power alone," Vesture yelled.

"What?"

"For a mage, you have a powerful physical statue."

"My Teammate Momon is more powerful than I, now that you-"

Narberal stopped talking. She was losing her cool. Vesture smiled and unequipped his sword.

"Since you only broke the guild law to protect that child, I'll forgive you. Just make sure you never do that again."

It appeared Narberal heard those words, but it looked like she was too disappointed in herself to listen.

She teleported into the house and left Vesture.

* * *

The sun was beginning to rise. The child, Aqua, was already awake. Despite being tired from traveling all day, she was still able to move. This was due to the fact it was a quiet and peaceful night where she slept.

But most of all was because of one single reason.

Before coming all this way, Aqua could not simply forgive the events that occurred a few days ago. Even with Miss Nabe's protection, the child could not trust any soul within her viewpoint.

That was because Mr. Smith was still alive. That meant there was a possibility of him killing her during or after this mission.

Yes, he did agree with Miss Nabe in exchange for his life, he would free the other adventurers. But what are the chances he would follow through with a hero's plan? All of this could be a trick.

Even not, the outside world is a cruel place; people anywhere could possibly harm or mock the child.

She surely learned that lesson after trying to foil Mr. Smith's plan. After trying to get Mr. Ray's help, she ended up left behind in his office and brutally shamed by the passing servants who were preparing to battle the adventurers.

They mocked for her how foolish and stupid she was. The child fell bottom first to the ground and sat there for half an hour before going to her bedroom.

By then, all the servants went to battle beside her.

Since her room was close to the adventurer's quarters, surely she would have been killed for being apart of Mr. Smith's plans.

Yet she did not care about that at that time. No one would have been able to simply walk away after that.

Even when Miss Nabe did that, "tough" act to her. It is still hard to act like a normal human being after that event.

Luckily with invisibility magic, she would not need to act so normal continually.

No one would be able to see her or mock the child.

But now, with that magic spell gone, the child stayed inside her room.

It wasn't worth going outside her room to get hurt by other people.

That was the reason the child stayed inside the room alone all day yesterday.

After Miss Nabe left the visitor's office, Aqua navigated to her private room without any assistance. The papers to sign her up for the protection service provided the location, so it was no problem.

The room was in a location that would be hard to navigate through if they were an attack. It was undoubtedly built for protection. However, because of that, news from the outside was hard to come by since there were no windows.

That was another reason why the child was awake.

It worried the child of what happened to Miss. Nabe. She had just broken a rule. Granted, it was to provide protection to her. Her caretaker might be forgiven for that case. But since the child hasn't seen Vesture, nor her, a worst-case scenario may have happened between them.

Yet that thought came to a stop.

Miss Nabe appeared at the door. She had not teleported but opened the door. Since it was locked, she most likely had the key.

However, that was not the case. The lock was broken.

Aqua signed.

That must be a sign something terrible had happened.

"Did the meeting with Vesture go well?"

"Yes and no."

Miss Nabe said that instantly and went towards the back of the room to grab her bag.

"Are you going away because of Vesture? Is there something I could do to help?"

"Yes, since you aren't going to be doing anything at this moment, I'll like to task you with learning more about Vesture."

That was one of the several tasks Aqua absolutely did not want to do.

"Is there anything else besides that?"

"Go back to Quirky Valley's merchant guide and see if they can do this request for me."

A small note was given to the child. This was another task Aqua could not possibly do by herself.

"Miss Nabe, sorry, but I cannot."

The mage was gone before Aqua had a chance to speak to her again. She must be very busy. There was no coincidence that as soon as Nabe meet with her other partner, her way of actions had rapidly increased.

"Shadow demon, will you be able to do that task?"

No response. Ever since yesterday, Miss Nabe could provide the child with a shadow demon, most likely to provide protection.

" _Does it only come out only when Miss Nabe orders it to?"_

That was likely the case. Because of that, there was no chance in any way she'll be able to get those favors done for Miss Nabe.

"Shadow demon, if you are there, give a message to Miss Nabe that I won't be able to complete that favor."

From what Aqua heard of Vesture, he is a very betoken man, even able to identify the wrongdoings of Miss Nabe. There is no way she'll go talk to a sword master who likely only has an interest in the strong. There also was no way she would be able to go back to Quirky Valley.

"There are so many things I can't do."

The child frowned at those reasons. The only thing she could do here was study. That's right, before coming to her room, she spotted a small library. Since this was a top-rated swordsmanship school, there should be some valuable information here, maybe even information about Vesture, as Nabe requested.

And the best of all, there were no signs of anyone in the library when she first saw it. Nor was there any type of locks on the entrances.

Since there was nothing else to do, Aqua supposed she should head there.

Through the empty hallways, the child quickly found the location to the library. There was no one there. But there were signs of little kids preciously playing around the front area.

 _"_ Hm _,"_

The child smiled with a hint of jealousy. After reading the forums, Aqua knew entirely that no matter how much money the clients paid for protection services, the kids kept here are greatly cared for. Even if the client never comes back, and leaves their possessives or children behind, Usually, the school would give the kids to other families or trained them until they turn the age of maturity.

It wasn't a corrupt system; she rarely heard of these services inside this country. Vesture, the founder of this school, must be a nice person.

Aqua thought that at first.

After meeting him, it was apparent what the true nature of that teacher was. That was obvious after Vesture kicked Miss. Nabe out of the building. The child still recalled her caretakers' face when she first came back.

Yes, Miss Nabe does get mad quite easily, but this time, the child felt something off about her. Usually, that mage caster would look calm and collected after solving a conflict, but not for this one.

Vesture must have been a hard person to get through.

The child hopes she'll not get on his bad side. That would be a terrible experience. For now, she should best avoid dangerous situations like that and focus on improving herself for the future.

Nabe would not be there forever to protect her. Once her mission is completed, she would be left alone in the Slane Theocracy. The papers Miss Nabe gave her said that.

The child did not think about it much at first, but now that her mind was cooled off. This was undoubtedly a crucial fact, she had to deal with. And the library was the best place to find information to deal with that.

It was not big. There was only one floor. However, the child could not complain. It was big considering this was a school that focuses on swordsmanship. As the child looked around the shelves, the child found books containing the history of the world and even some works of frictional pieces.

 _"Despite being so small, this place has a lot of variety in its subjects."_

The child started collecting more books and placed them on a table. As long as Aqua doesn't steal the books and "checks them out," no one would really care for the child collecting this many works.

Of course, with that many papers in her arms, there would be no time to read all of them. That's why Aqua simply grabbed the most important ones.

The books that were necessary for survival.

There was no chance the child could learn magic in a few weeks. Nor was training physical strength was an opinion. Therefore, having intelligence and knowledge was the best choice to improve on.

Aqua did have time to read when she was with Mr. Smith, but that was only when she had free time and when she was still ignorant of the world.

Now with this limited time, she must complete what she should have done long ago.

Across the room, the child heard a door opened. Obviously, someone at one point was eventually going to the library. Therefore, Aqua planned ahead and went to the old part of the library to hide.

There was no meaning in hiding, yet the child did so.

But rushing tended to create mistakes. Piles of books fell to the floor, and the person who was in the room briefly walked pass by.

It was Vesture.

Of course, it had to be the person she least wanted to meet. Aqua started to have a heavy feeling towards her stomach.

The child had seen him before. Aqua wondered why her body was scared. But that fact was easily solved. Judging by how Vesture interacted with Miss Nabe, she was the only one who the child can trust here.

Quickly, the child grabbed the books on the floor. It was a slow process; the child hoped nothing hurtful would come from Owners's mouth. Yet, nothing like that was heard. From the corner of the child's eye, Vesture picked up several of the books and handed them towards the child.

"Thank you."

The child spoke for the first time in the hour.

"You're welcome. Are you looking for books about the world's history?

The child hesitated, then spoke.

"I was, but I don't need any help, I'll be on my way now."

The child swiftly walked passed Vesture, yet he spoke once more.

"Are you in a rush?"

"Right. Miss. Nabe told me to do some favors for her, such as going to Quirky Valley."

That statement was true, but the child was in no situation to do that action. She simply thought and spoke the only excuse she could give and grabbed the books.

"Quirky Vallery is too far for a child to go to alone. You could do that task later, for now….. World history, are you interested in that topic?"

Vesture asked Aqua in a soft voice, and the child's muscles softened and shook her head.

He could clearly tell the child was lying.

"If you have a question about world history, then go ahead and ask me, it'll save a lot of time for yourself."

Aqua's mouth opened, "Can I go back to my private room? This is just a misunderstanding."

Those words were slightly rude, but the child did not care for it. Meeting Vesture was not as bad as the child thought, but she still wanted to get out of there and asked him to be excused again.

"The other kids are cleaning the rooms. You can wait here until they are done. You may as well ask anything you like."

The child's mouth was silent.

" _What did this person want from me?"_

Her eyes lingered to the floor, and before she realized it, Vesture grabbed one of the books she collected.

"Gignal Elshy, Lubelina, and Bebei…. interested in those people?"

Aqua turned to look at Vesture for the first time. He was holding a booklet, and pictures of past adventurers were on the pages. She wasn't that interested in that book and only forgot to put it back on the shelf.

But then she realizes the reason Vesture picked that book. Each description of those adventurers was aged and died 30 years ago on the same day.

"Those people, did you know them?"

"Yes," Vesture replied, "They died a long time ago... 30 years ago by the monster known as Zy' tl Q'ae. They were strong and foolish, but they were my best friends."

Vesture kneed down," knowledge was what they were missing. People like them, even if they are as strong as the adventurer, Nabe, would not live in this world forever."

"Are there such things in this world stronger than her?"

"Of course, the adventurer Nabe looks strong on her own, but she probably never faced anyone strong yet, and therefore, she is ignorant of this world. I often see younger people like her get killed before they realize that."

"Well, if you have enough time, can you tell me more about this world then?"

"That's the spirit, do you know how to read?"

"Yes."

Vesture walked behind the child and grabbed one of the books on the bookshelf. He passed one of them to the child. Aqua was confused what the book was about until reading the title.

"Magic and Races? Excuse me, Vesture, but do you have any books that generally explains the entire history of the world?"

"I think it's better to learn about the world of magic and the dangers of it before going into world history."

He grabbed another book from one of the bookshelves and started to turn the pages.

"But, for your case, I'll start differently….. Do you know anything about this world's people?"

The child shook her head.

"Then let's start from the basics. 600 years ago is where everything about magic started to change. The Six Great Gods appeared and introduced a new form of magic to the New World."

"Tier magic?"

Vesture nodded, "Before tier magic, Wild Magic existed in this world. In particular, most users of this form of art were Dragon Lords. The most powerful dragons, the True Dragon Lords, were masters of this art."

Vesture turned the page.

"Today, it is rare to find someone who uses it. The art requires the caster to use souls to perform the casting of a powerful spell."

"It sounds like a useful art, why doesn't anyone use it?"

"Because of the appearance of other powerful beings such as the Six Great Gods, Wild Magic fell. It was also due to the fact it requires great power to use it."

"What is it?"

"In other words, Wild Magic is different from modern magic because it was powered by souls, rather than needing mana to cast."

"It requires sacrifices?"

"For more powerful spells. Since tier magic only uses mana. It became more popular with the average person."

"So, only Dragons know how to use Wild Magic?"

"There a likely some humans who know about and use it. However, today most people or even mages don't even know it exists."

"Why is that?"

"Because records of the use of wild magic can not be found in modern-day. Therefore, many people think the use of this power is a myth. Thus, many scholars around the world not teach this subject."

"Why don't dragons teach humans, then?"

"Most dragons died after the Eight Greed Kings came to this world. Many races alike were slaughtered and extinct after that strange event."

"The Eight Greed Kings, so they were the bad beings in this world. And the Six Great Gods where the goods ones. Were they able to deal with the greedy kings?"

"No, the last of the Six Great Gods were killed by them with ease, and they continued to rule the world until a certain point."

"If they could not be defeated, then what killed them?"

"What brought their downfall was themselves. All of them wanted power, and a fight broke out between them. Ultimately they perished."

"What about the countries that survived?"

"Almost every country, including the humans, had been destroyed. The only country that has been able to live all these years is the Slane Theocracy. It was founded in the time when the Six Great Gods came into this world. Today, they are supposed to protect this world if an event such as the Eight Greedy Kings comes again."

Vesture lowered the book slightly and checked Aqua to see if she was still paying attention.

"Why stop?"

"No, just taking a small break, let's continue."

The page was turned. Vesture then talked about the history after the Eight Greedy kings and how countries allied with each other to combat for a situation if another god appeared.

However, as Vesture continued to talk, it seemed most of the countries forgone that alliance.

Which then came to the history of the Evil Deities.

Vesture stopped to take in a deep breath.

"Since many countries have forgotten their alliance, they were not prepared to face a new threat that appeared. The enemy was called the Evil Deities. It wasn't until the appearance of the Thirteen Heroes that the world was saved from destruction."

Aqua leaned in closer to get a better look at the history book.

"They were heroes that had strength surpassing the likes of humanity. All of the members were from different races and started off at different strengths."

Vesture turned the book and shown Aqua some pictures. They were drawing of places and people. He pointed at a short but handsome man. The child opened her mouth. The person reminded her of someone, but of course, she knew that was just a coincidence.

"The leader was human. He was the weakest member of the group. But later on his journey, he became the strongest out of everyone, but was killed in action."

"What happened?"

"This is not in the history books, and what I am about to tell you is from what I researched."

"So officially no one really knows?

He nodded. "From my research, he had to fight and kill his best friend in a duel. After the battle, he could not live with the guilt and bleed to death from the injuries. Because of his death, the heroes slowly dissolved, but the threat was weakened enough that the countries could deal with themselves."

"That is sad to hear. Do you know what caused the fight between them?"

"I have not figured that out."

Aqua looked down, "I have an older brother, and although we sometimes disagreed, I'll never stand against him in a battle,"

"It's good you have a friendship with your older brother, but things can change. Is Nabe taking care of him too?"

"No…" Aqua said softly," He died a few months ago."

"That is unfortunate,"

"My brother died protecting me, and if I was smarter, I could have saved him."

Vesture nodded and went back to his desk. There was a book on top of it, but the child couldn't see the title until he threw the book at her. She almost toppled down on the ground and stared at the cover.

"You have books about tier magic here?"

"Well, yes, to become a good fighter, you must know what others can do too."

Vesture stood and grabbed another copy of the book.

"There are four main categories of magic, Arcane, Divine, Spiritual, and Alternative. All of them provide a different use in combat or in war,"

Vesture flipped several more pages and explained each of the main categories of magic.

"There are also multiple tiers of magic, the higher the tier, the more powerful the spell is. The highest humanity has ever reached through training, and talent is 6th."

Aqua's nodded in response, "I read a book about a man named Fluder. He is one of the few humans ever to reach that height,"

"It took him dozens of years to get there. It is faster to train your body and become a warrior if you don't have the talent."

"How do you know?"

Vesture took a small paused and did not look at Aqua even when he found the answer.

"Well, technically, if you are an average human, you would be stronger as a mage rather than being a warrior. However, I've trained a lot of people throughout the years." Vesture's voice suddenly became soft. "Gazef, Orlando, Igvarge."

Aqua noticed those weak words and tried lighting up the mood.

"Gazef, I heard he is the strongest warrior in this country."

Vesture's eye changed, so did the aura in the library.

"Well... yes and no, titles are just there to provide comfort to the public. In reality, there are many other people as stronger than him."

Vesture pointed to himself, "He has not been able to master everything I taught him, nor has he ever beaten me in a spar."

"You're stronger than him at your age?"

"Well, old age hasn't completely caught up to me yet. It's been a few years since I last talked to Gazef. His strength and skill may have improved since then."

"I heard he's working with the king and princess, why don't you go to the meeting to see your student again?"

"Hm, I wish, but I cannot go to the meeting for personal reasons, not because of Nabe or my job."

She lowered her head. It was pointless to question his personal reasons.

"Sorry for asking that question,"

"Ask anything you like, as long as it is related to magic or swordsmanship."

"What about races? I not well-informed with the people in this world yet."

"That is unusual. Now that you mention it, have you ever been formally educated?"

The child paused for a moment and shook her head.

"You'll learn most of them through experience, but I tell you the ones you should be worried about."

He gave the magic book to Aqua and started to say the words.

"Giants and Goblins, they are commonly found around here. They are much stronger than the untrained human. Most of them are violent, but some of them can be friendly,"

Vesture then went on about the list of races the child should look out for, such as the undead and demon race. But he suddenly stopped to think about some other races.

"Dragons,"

"What about them again?"

"They are one of the most dangerous races besides the gods of this world. If you ever see one, run away as far as you can."

"I guessed they were since they could use Wild Magic. Do you know how strong they can be?"

"Dragons used to rule this world hundreds of years ago, but because of several mass genocides, not many powerful dragons exist today."

"Then, is that all I have to worry about?"

"No, It is improbable you'll ever encounter them, but there are people who have surpassed humanity's limits."

"Like the realm of heroes?"

"No, besides dragons, there is something else you should worry about,"

Vesture paused for a moment, Aqua knew he was hiding something, but he couldn't say the words to the child.

"Just be careful. When I was an adventurer, I was similar to Nabe,"

"You must have been really strong in your prime,"

Vesture nodded, "I was, but then I fought one of those races I told you before,"

"Like monsters as strong as the Evil Deities?

"Yes, I survived, and It was a lesson that changed my life,"

"Right, when was that time?"

"Time, right. I almost forgot."

Vesture went towards the windows of the room and stared at the capital city. It was late already, and the sun was nowhere in the sky.

"I'm going to be late... sorry Aqua, but I have to go to a meeting, the kids are probably done cleaning your room,"

"Wait!"

The child nodded and wanted to ask Vesture where she could talk to him again, but of course, it was too late.

* * *

A fun thing to point out. Vestures actually a character from Overlord. But there isn't much information about him. One of the only things about him we know is that he and his group of adventurers most likely did "meet" Zy'tl Q'ae 30 years ago. Although it was not clearly stated if they ever fought, the wiki and even the Drama CD stated that Vesture and his group of adventurers faced underlying the seriousness from that mission

So in this story, I'll just say Vesture and his group had fought Zy'tl Q'ae and most of them died fighting it.

Also, another fun fact, Gignal Elshy, Lubelina, and Bebei are all web novel characters, but they were never shown in the light novel or anime.


	17. Chapter 14

Lord Ainz and Narberal were on a magic carpet and on their way to the capital city. Narberal was behind him as always, looking downwards to the city below them. They were starting Project Jaldabaoth. A mission that will surely mark their status as the strongest adventurers in the country. He has been planning this mission for quite some time. Well, that was an understatement, Demiurge was actually doing all the work. He was simply following the orders of his comrade's creation.

" _Hehe Demiurge, you are going a little too far."_

Lord Ainz himself doesn't even know half of the things Demirgues plans on doing for the next two days.

" _Although I'm the boss of the Tomb of Nazarick, this is well above my pay-grade."_

Lord Ainz had always thought of that as true, but yet he still acts as the boss. At least he is able to help do of other duties in the tomb of Nazarick, such as doing this.

Behind Lord Ainz, was Narberal. It seemed she was still troubled by her latest actions. When first hearing that she just caused a new problem, he was confused on how in the world she was able to mess up.

But then he realized it was Vesture.

He almost had forgotten about that name.

" _Wasn't he was the man who'd trained Gazef?"_

That statement correct. However, the main reason for Lord Ainz's memory of him was because of his latest mission as the adventurer Momon.

If he was truly level 35 warrior, that would have been the end of his journey. He never expected to meet such a powerful monster, nor the fact how Vesture had survived that encounter.

Yes, 30 years ago, Vesture and group of adventurers fought a level 80+ monster named Zy'tl Q'ae, and only a few of them escaped that mess.

Of course, Lord Ainz's guild master did tell him that this mission would be dangerous, but of course, they did not mention the fact Vesture and his group were nearly wiped out in that event.

" _Perhaps the guild master didn't know about the monster?"_

Whatever the reason, the moment he encountered that tree, Lord Ainz had all the floor guardians fight the beast for a training lesson. Of course, it defeated quickly, but the fact that Vesture and few other low-level humans survive an encounter with a level 80 being does say something about their luck and skill.

That was likely the reason why Narberal was caught doing something illegal with Vesture around. Now that was a slight problem in hand.

Usually, he would punish Narberal for such a mistake, but it would not be too bad. After hearing the report that the shadow demon gave about her, it was clear Naberal was improving her adventurer persona.

" _I never thought Narberal would be able to bust a crime organization by herself."_

Yes, the shadow demon reported Narberal having the foresight to foil a grand criminal act.

And with the success of Coypus's training. The improvement of the NPCs is starting to become a reality.

Yet that feeling was stopped when Solution told him about Sebes.

Apparently, he housed a human without any motive or order from himself. Therefore, something must have been happening.

But after visiting Sebes, it appeared nothing was wrong, and Lord Ainz left them to prepare for Jaldabaoth. Although the floor guardians may now have a slightly different opinion of Sebes after that, there was no question that he still had loyalty to him.

"Momon, What is going to happen to Sebes?"

Narberal asked that question.

"It appeared Solution was just wary about his latest actions, don't worry about it too much."

"I see."

"Nabe, do you think your sister was right to call us?"

Narberal paused for a moment. Usually, she would be hesitant to answer such a question from Lord Ainz. But for the past few weeks, she'd often had to provide her own insight into situations to him.

"I believe my sister was right, but I also believe Sebes was doing it for a certain reason. Whether it will benefit him or us."

Narberal said that with a calm look on her face.

"I see your point, it is insightful."

Lord Ainz went back into silence. He still could not think of the reason why Sebes could possibly care for that human. He already checked off the possibility of the use of a World item at play.

Therefore, Lord Ainz could only think of a few reasons. One of them, which is likely the culprit.

" _Ha, Lord Touch me, this is your hand at isn't it?"_

Lord Ainz never really drove in his personal life. Still, even if they were strangers, one would tell that he had a noble personality.

"Hm,"

That has likely passed on to Sebes. All 41 members of Nazarick likely hid some trivial character traits within their creations. Like himself with Pandora's Actor and Aureole Omega to that person.

* * *

This counts as the 2nd-day Aqua had been here. Currently, she was alone in her private room, reading dozens of books. Lately, she'd learned much about the world, but at the same time, she discovered how much the world does not know.

And it was truly massive.

She would have to become a scholar to get a peak of understanding everything this world has to offer. However, that would have to wait. At this moment, Aqua simply focused on the basic survival necessities she will need to live in this world.

The child already knew much about the country she lived in, but not the ones outside of this area. Apparently, there are much more demi-human nations far away from this area. And when you look at the other nearby civilized human countries, the ones surrounding her have a far better economy and standard of living.

However, the reason why the Re-Estize kingdom still around is because of its exceptional natural defenses. That was a slight relief as Aqua learned that.

It was in the book, labeled the basic necessities to live as a human.

Yet, It was too basic in its information. The child basically wasted her time reading that and a few other books. Normally after a failure like that, she would usually continue and power it through, but with such a deadline at her neck, the child was currently conflicted about doing something else.

That was to get help from Vesture. It would be the fastest way to learn information about the world before she departs from this place. The only problem with that was he looked to be busy.

In fact, the child has not even heard of him since he left yesterday. Likely, he's back. Everyone in the building seemed not to question his location.

So with that option, Aqua decided to check if he was at the school. Granted, the guards(teachers) around the school were quite strong, and Aqua could have simply asked for their help. She felt it would be better to get information from the best person around here.

However, yes, the child still found Vesture to be a strange and aggressive person.

She still recalled the time he stood against Miss Nabe in correcting her way of thinking. That was a flaw in him, but that person was still filled with knowledge and experience that benefit herself. No scientist or scholar would leave a person like that go.

Not even herself.

Soon, the child found herself out of the room and over to the corners of the hallways. Her palms were getting sweaty. She keeps telling herself to move on, yet she was still scared.

" _Haha, what is this?"_

Her brain was telling herself that it is dangerous to go this way alone. Of course, the child knew that it is safe inside this building. It was only a mental issue of why the child was hesitant about continuing.

That was the reason it took a minute before she reached the end of the main hallway. Vesture's room was located on the 2nd floor near the private rooms. For safety reasons, It made sense to place them next to the strongest person in the building.

There were other teacher's rooms, too, but most of them looked empty. Only Vesture and a few others live in the school besides the guards.

The guards. Now that Aqua thought about it, the guards were probably just students since it seems so many of them looked familiar with the place.

Unlike herself, who'd only been here for two days. Even the other kids who were here seem more familiar than her with this place.

Down the stairs, Aqua saw several small kids running around the hall on the 1st floor. She made sure they did not see her. Usually, the taken cared children would interact with each other, but Aqua had not done so. To be honest, this was the first time she has seen children similar to her age in a while.

They all looked innocent. That was what Aqua thought when peeking on them. Even if their caretakers were to abandon them, they would be taken in by the school. Whereas she would be left alone in the Slane Theocracy.

There was likely some "childcare" services in that country. After all, it is said to be the most powerful and prosperous human nation. But of course, the best-case scenario doesn't always happen.

Miss Nabe looks like a busy person too. Granted, she is a trustful person; once her job is over, she'd be too busy handling more important tasks rather than babysitting.

That was just how life worked.

Vesture was likely the same. He was probably doing something important at this moment and would cast her away.

But again, it confused the child why the man did not do so yesterday at the library.

Aqua moved from her spot near the stairs. It might be foolish to ask for Vesture's help, but again, maybe because he is a teacher, it gave the child some hope.

Though the hallway towards Vesture's room. Aqua finally came across the door.

A loud squeak came from Aqua's step. The floors were old around here.

"Hey," A voice was called out, Aqua could tell it was from Vesture, despite the voice sounding a little higher than usual, "Hazel, are you sure you can't make it to the village?"

He must have confused her with someone else. Since it did not look like Vesture was doing anything thing private, the child decided it was best to tell him it was her and what she needed.

However, from the sound of his voice, it looked like he was busy. At this moment, Vesture was likely doing important stuff.

And when the child thought about it more, Vesture would likely not waste any time to teach a child with no talent in swordsmanship.

It was logical.

If the most powerful person in the world had to choose to help a mage could only use 1st tier magic or a prodigy, the latter would choose the prodigy.

It would be wiser to simply ask another teacher.

But the child shook her head.

While it was unlikely Vesture would come to teach her again as he did yesterday, the child still went through the doors, they were already open and unlocked.

"Vesture, could you..."

No response.

Contrary to expectations, He was not in the room. There were some open windows and another room to the left. That was the armory and a young teenager who looked shorter than Miss Nabe was looking at her.

There were a few seconds of silence.

Well, that was to be expected. Aqua never saw that person around here. All the teachers' names and pictures were listed at the front of the school.

Therefore was it a student?

"Excuse me, but have you seen."

The boy moved.

He was holding something behind his back. It was Vesture's sword.

" _A Thief?"_

Aqua stumbled on the floor and yelled for help. Yet, her mouth was covered up.

He is fast.

Aqua tried scrambling her arms and legs, yet they were already locked shut by a strange-looking material.

Yet the child was still able turned to face the person.

And that led to her jaw-dropping.

The man looked like he had no intention of harming her. Well, that thought came because of his appearance.

" _Rabbit ears?"_

"Stop moving. This is a misunderstanding."

The young man spoke and let go of the child.

She quickly stood up and had gotten a better view of the strange person.

He was wearing a white and blue-collar shirt. Accompanying that was sunless skin and half-opened eyes, which gave off a chill and sleepy expression.

But the most notable thing about the person was the rabbit ears, which was now covered up by his long blue neatly kept hair.

One might mistake him for the opposite gender if they were to briefly look at him.

" _Are you a rabbit-man?"_

Vesture did not tell Aqua anything about them, but once she read a book about a couple of rare races that exist in this world. Judging from the words of the literary work, It foretold that the species, Rabbitmen, had androgynous human looks despite their genders, with the addition of bunny-like features.

And this man right here fully fitted that description besides having that short stature.

" _He looks only around 4 feet and 10 inches tall….."_

"I am one of the guards master Vesture hired."

The rabbit man finally said something. Aqua looked up and down at the person's clothes.

"I see, but then why are you wearing casual clothing, shouldn't you be wearing armor if you're a guard?"

"I am going to be meeting with Master Vesture to discuss some personal issues."

"Then why are you inside his room?"

"I was…."

"And why is Vesture gone all of a sudden, I just heard him a few seconds ago."

"That is because..."

"And why.."

Before the child could question the man, he covered up the child's mouth once more.

"No more questions, I am one of Vesture's personally trained guards. That is it."

Aqua almost laughed, it seems every powerful being in this world always had some type of strange secret. Mr. Smith is actually a murder, Miss Nabe does not actually know how to read, and Vesture.

Aqua starting speaking in a soft way.

"It's good to meet you in your present state, Vesture."

His clam looking eyes widen.

* * *

"So Vesture,"

The little child spoke once again.

"How long are you going to stay sitting there?"

In the corner of his room, Vesture was sitting on a desk, writing something down. He had been doing this ever since Aqua first came into the room.

Even the child would be too bored, simply waiting. However, Vesture ordered Aqua to stay put.

It appeared that he had to do something important before addressing the latest issue the child had come across.

Yes, that was the fact that Aqua figured out his true identity.

" _If your true identity was such a big secret, why did you leave your door open?"_

Aqua had a slightly annoyed face on herself, and Vesture stared back at the child, It seemed he noticed that gesture.

"Normally, there is suppose to be a spell activated in this room to alert me if someone not familiar with me is near. Since that did not activate, I can only think that your friend took down that magical barrier."

"Spells? You have magical defenses around this school?

"Yes, but it looks like that Adamantite adventurer turned them off."

"I see, since your talking to me, I guess you are done writing those papers."

He nodded but was still sitting on the chair.

"Look, just pretend you never saw me in this form."

"You're not going to kill me or anything like that?"

Aqua recalled the moment Miss Nabe almost killed her when she discovered the mage could not read. Therefore, she thought something worse might have occurred after discovering Vesture was not human.

But it appeared that was not the case.

"Of course not, that would be stupid."

"Then why are you keeping me inside your study room?"

"Just to be sure your not a spy or anything like that."

"A spy?"

No wonder why Vesture covered all the windows and entrances. But there was one thing that still bothered her.

" _Didn't I already pass the background check?"_

If Aqua were truly a spy and was after killing one of the clients or students inside here, she would have done so already. Verifying that she was a spy from the person Vesture himself was not needed unless for one apparent reason.

"Vesture, are you in some type of drug deal?"

"Drug deal? No, that is not the problem."

"So, there is another motive for me being here then?"

There was no response. Obviously, a grown adult would not tell a child a personal issue that could lead to criminal charges. Aqua should have known that and was about to refute that question.

But then an idea came up. Vesture was a Rabbitman. The most obvious trait of being one is the big bunny ears. Yet, it seemed he was hiding them in his long hair.

"Is it because of your appearance?"

A soft sign appeared from his face.

"I did not tell you this yesterday, but many nations around the world have racial discrimination."

"Why is that?"

"It is because of the constant wars and conflicts that happen between the races. I figure you already knew that when you first saw me."

Aqua did not get what Vesture met.

"When I first saw your true appearance?"

"Yes, you were shocked because I was from the race of demi-humans, correct?"

"No, I was shocked because you looked small."

"I am not small."

Vesture rebutted the child. He was taking this seriously.

"Usually, people would be shocked to see me because of my demi-human appearance."

That was the androgynous cute looks, the bunny ears, and the blue hair that stood from his head.

Aqua understood the topic of racism, but still could not understand the reason Vesture was ashamed of his identity.

"But Vesture, I like your appearance…. and your water-colored hair."

In her eyes, It made Vesture look like a much easier person to get along with. Yet, he still replied.

"Thank you for the compliment, but many other people would not have that opinion."

Even though it was reflected lightly, there was a slight happy expression on Vesture's face as he continued going on his small lecture.

"Typically, in the Re-Estize Kingdom and nations similar to it, usually only humans are granted political power or freedom to live how they pleased. For example, if you look at Elves, they could generally represent how demi-humans are treated in this area."

"Wouldn't it be a problem if I knew your true identity then?"

"If you were from the government, then yes, but since your child, most people would dismiss such statements of well-known adventurers."

Now that the child thought of it. That was certainly a fact.

"Since demi-humans are treated badly around here, why don't you go back to your home country?"

"Let's save that for another time. For now, can you tell me the reason why you came to my room?"

"Oh, right."

The child almost has forgotten the reason she came here in the first place. That was to request Vesture to teach her. At first, it seemed like an impossible task to do. But with this new discovery, perhaps it wasn't impossible after all.

"Do you think you could be my tutor for the day?"

Aqua finally asked the request. Vesture blinked twice before his reaction was formed.

"Even after finding out this discovery?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, simply, if you had asked me yesterday, this mess would have never happened."

"Is that a yes?"

"Of course,"

And with that, Aqua smiled briefly.

"You know," Vesture spoke, "That's the type of spirit I like to see from kids."

She thanked Vesture for his complaints and came towards the desk he was just sitting on.

"Vesture, you were writing notes?"

"Correct, I was reviewing materials so I can teach my students better."

"That's nice of you,"

"It is only natural. Students come from all different backgrounds, and all of them have a different way of learning."

"Can I read that book since your not using it?"

"You know, let's make that the first lesson of the day. Do you want to see how currently strong you are?"

Aqua lowered her arms and nodded.

"Then follow me to the training grounds, no one should be there today, so don't worry about getting in the way of other people."

He then pulled out his sleeves, and what appeared was a bracelet.

"What is that?"

"It's a magical item that allows me to change my appearance."

"You can change races?"

"No, that is magic beyond humanity. This item merely casts an illusion on me to look like a different person, see?"

And with that, Vesture transformed himself back into a human, and both of them headed to the backyard.

"Now Aqua, let's start from the basics. First, we are going to be wielding some weapons."

The child stepped backward.

"Will that be necessary?" She spoke with a fragile tone.

"Obviously,"

"That sounds simple."

Aqua felt that was another fact towards that test. And there was.

Vesture grabbed a hammer. It looked like a simple weapon, but when he picked it up, it started to glow.

"Martial arts?"

"No, the thing with this hammer is that it is able to tell how much potential an individual has. The brighter it glows, the higher power level a person could achieve in the future."

"Oh," Aqua said.

At first, the test looked simple and even dumb. But now this sounded like an intelligent use of magic, well that was the case until Vesture spoke once more.

"But the flaw with this is that it cannot measure a certain level of strength if it is too low or high."

"I see, so this magical item only scales on the power level of humanity?"

"You can say that, If a being such as an insect touched it, no light would show up, but if a dragon tried using it, for example, the hammer would light up as much as if I were to pick it up."

"Ah,"

Aqua got the basis of the system down, and then, for some reason, he brought down the hammer towards a random rock and smashed it completely.

"For fun, usually, students tend to break rocks with these hammers, but I wouldn't really do that."

"Why is that?"

"Someone has to pay for these. You know."

It sounded like that was a problem that happened before.

" _Why use a hammer to measure strength?"_

Before the child could ask that question, Vesture suddenly placed the weapon away.

"Wait, so, I am going to pick up the same hammer you did?"

"No, for kids like your age, that would be an inaccurate test, that's why I have another hammer that's able to measure and scale the strength of lower-level people."

Aqua followed his words and grabbed the hammer Vesture pointed towards. It was lightweight, probably so that kids like her would be able to pick up the weapon.

First, the child hesitated, but proceeded to bring the weapon upwards.

And nothing had lit up.

The child stood there, dumbfounded, was she that weak? The child lowered her hands. Even though she is little, the hammer should have lightened up a little bit.

"I see," Vesture said, "You are not doing it right."

"Huh?"

Aqua stood and looked towards Vesture. He held up his hand.

"When you are about to pick up the hammer, say these words,"

Vesture whispered them, and Aqua listened to them. It was like a chant for a magic spell, but no magic circle appeared. Maybe it was just words for encouragement.

Aqua grabbed the hammer again and chanted some words while wielding the hammer. This time something was different. She felt the sensation of blood gathering in her hands. It felt as if it was being squeezed out, and the hammer beneath her had started to light up.

" _Whoa,"_

Her hands were shaking, and she felt a bit tired. But it was lighting up. And it was not just lighting up. It was gloomy hot. Aqua turned towards Vesture and smiled. It was the first time in a while.

"Thank you, teacher."

Because of this discovery, she knew she could probably become like Vesture or Nabe in the future. Unlike before, she never knew if she'll have that ability. When she tried to talk to other adventurers how they use magic or how they have super strength, often they said to keep training, and you'll find out after years of hard work.

But with this method, Aqua could simply pick up a hammer and realize she had a chance at surviving in this world.

"Why don't I see this method training in other areas?"

"Well, this way of measuring strength was just invented a few years ago by a local merchant I know. Plus, it is not 100% reliable."

Aqua's face nearly dropped, but Vesture was still looking strong.

"Still, if this test is accurate, it means you have the ability to be stronger than a gold rank adventurer."

"Gold-ranked?"

"Yes, adventurers ranked higher than gold are valued. Even more so if you become stronger."

"It is because not too many of them are around?

"Correct, because of that, high-ranking adventurers sometimes start becoming too ambiguous about themselves."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Well, it can be. If you brag too much, people would often start pushing impossible task for you to do."

"Is that from your experience?"

"Yes,"

" _I should take note of this."_

Aqua was about to do so until Vesture starting speaking again.

"People value strength that is at the peak of humanity. More so if they received an education in a school."

"Are there magic schools around here?"

"Yes, but most of them are in different countries."

"I see, did you go to a swordsmanship school too?"

"No, I was mostly self-taught. But, if you want to improve your abilities, I believe going to a school is the best way to go."

"Mmm, I bet they are expensive, though."

Vesture nodded. It was a common thing for people to charge money to teach you. After all, it's what they do for a living.

"It costs money to go to your school, too, right?"

Vesture shook his head.

"Usually no,"

"What? How do you pay for taxes and all of that stuff?"

"That's why I have the protection serves in this school. If you are worried about paying for education, I can possibly take you in."

"Really?"

Vesture nodded. That statement must have been a joke. Either that, there must be a catch.

"If there's barely any tuition cost, why are there barely any students here?"

"Ah, well, that's because my former students sometimes take them in such as Gazef and Orlando. Sometimes they help me out by recruiting the kids to their training project or army."

"Oh, Is that way Gazef's army band is so strong?"

"Yes, some of them were students that came here."

He then patted the child's head, "One day, you could become strong like them to protect your loved ones."

"Really?"

"You just didn't know how to use your strength. Just remember that feeling when you said those words.

Aqua felt relieved. Now that she thought of it, this was the reason why Vesture taught her all that stuff yesterday. It was because he truly cared for the well beings of kids and the commoners around here.

"Thank you again, teacher."

Vesture nodded, and for a small celebration, Aqua lifted up the hammer and brought it down towards one of the rocks Vesture destroyed.

However, that was a bad idea. The hammer had broken into pieces.

Aqua's face was also in pieces.

" _Come on, think carefully, what would my older brother do in this situation?"_

Aqua thought of countless possible excuses, but none could come up. And she turned to face Vesture.

"Um, that wasn't on purpose."

"Don't worry about it. I was going to go buy some more magical supplies for the school anyways at Quirky Valley. Didn't you say you needed to go there too? Since it is daytime, we can go to the village now."

"Right now?"

* * *

Ever since the child came here, Miss Nabe always used an invisibility spell to cover her appearance from other people's views.

Because of that, she never met any other people besides Vesture ever since leaving Mr. Smith.

She is conscious of the fact she needs to interact with many other people someday, but the fact hasn't sucked in yet.

Aqua was truly afraid.

If she were to walk out there and if groups of people were to see her, the memories would appear again.

The memories of that day. The events that lead up to now. There was a pain in her stomach. The coldening blood and the pain of her brother's death.

The child's legs were shivering.

Before, she can talk to adventurers inside the mansion or walk outside alone. But that was because of her persona of being a servant kept the memories from reappearing.

No one saw her true self, and without a disguise, the child cannot take another step towards the real world.

It's because she knows how it is like.

The peaceful scenery of the fields in front of her might instantly turn into hell. The seemingly peaceful sights were somewhat always a lie.

In her past, she had countless delusions similar to the nights when she was unable to sleep.

What if this country was to suddenly go to war. What if the dragons suddenly came and became her neighbor?

If that happens, she would still be able to work hard.

Only because she would be deluding herself from reality.

Such as right now. To this moment, she is deluding herself.

But if she talks to another human without any persona, without a disguise, they will realize who she is.

They will force her to wake up from the dream and when she does. The moment of despair will return.

The child does realize this is a reality.

It always reminds her, and she understands it as a fact.

But she is unable to go outside alone.

No matter how much effort she puts into her heart.

Her body is unable to keep up.

The child really wanted to cry.

Since Nabe isn't here to use her invisibility spell, she would have to physically go into the village.

Once Vesture told Aqua that, she let out a weak groan of resistance.

"Can you do this favor for me?"

"Don't worry, we have plenty of time,"

"I will only slow you down, and Miss Nabe might be coming any hour now."

"Nabe told me she would be gone for at least three days.

"Can't it be done?"

"No."

She was completely lost.

Aqua knew that she would have to take a step outside into reality.

She keeps reminding herself how can she get stronger without going outside to the real world.

It was foolish, but her body kept refusing. It still distinctly remembers the past.

On that fateful day in her past, she was beaten and bruised all over, viciously mocked by them, and her heart was left with a huge psychological damage.

That fateful day when she had no choice but to lock herself indoors to avoid working.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, there just might be some monsters outside."

"In this area, we live close to the capital. It is almost impossible to run into monsters if you don't approach the forests. Also, even if we do run into them, I can kill them myself since they are weak. In fact, you might be able to handle one,"

Vesture showed a surprised expression when Aqua kept finding all sorts of excuses.

"Ah, I think I know what the problem is. Aqua, have you ever been alone with no one you knew around?"

"Mmmm… no,"

"Are you afraid of it? The horse."

"I'm not too afraid of horses or things such as that."

Aqua actually like pets and animals like Hamsuke. She also loved playing with stuffed animals and such.

"Haha, I'm relieved. It is okay if you still have some child-like fears."

Vesture has gotten the wrong idea.

But she couldn't say she was afraid of talking to other people.

That is something much more embarrassing than being afraid of animals.

But she didn't want to be looked down upon by her new-found teacher.

"Oh well, it can't be helped. Here."

Seeing that Aqua wasn't able to move, Vesture suddenly carried the child onto his back.

"Wait!"

"If you just sit on it, you soon won't be afraid,"

She didn't struggle. Aqua simply thought of leaving it to her teacher.

Vesture threw her on the back of a horse.

Then he also climbs up and takes hold of the reins.

The horse moved forward.

She simply left the school in that manner.

It was the first time for the child to be visibility seen outside.

Vesture was slowly moving toward the village.

The farmers were in the fields, working on their crops.

From time to time, they would throw them unreserved gazes.

Aqua's body tensed up.

She was still afraid of being looked at.

Especially those mocking and unrestrained gazes. They were filled with such hatred. The memories of the past grew in her mind.

The death of her brother.

The child's hands grew tense. The image of his eyes staring at the roof.

And the eyes of those adventurers.

Her stomach grew cold.

Aqua surely thought the people here would court trouble with her and Vesture with mocking words.

She closed her eyes. They probably wouldn't.

They wouldn't recognize her.

In this place, only Vesture and Miss Nabe knew her.

But she still questioned why they were looking at her.

She wanted to yell at them to stop looking at her and go back to work.

Aqua opened her eyes again. It was to cry out in pain.

But she realized they were looking at Vesture.

"What?"

It wasn't her.

The farmers were greeting Vesture.

" _That's right,"_ Aqua thought.

She remembered her teacher has already established her position in this area. Even though he is quite old, he has always been a figure who everyone is willing to greet.

When she thinks of this point, Vesture is very reliable.

He knows where to go, and people mutually respects him.

If she receives any unwanted comments, Vesture would definitely defend her.

Aqua smiled. She couldn't believe this person who was shorter than Miss Nabe, to be so reliable.

The tension in the child's limbs started to fade away.

"The horse is in a pretty good mood. I think it is glad a child is riding it for once."

Of course, both of them couldn't read the horse's mood, but Aqua still responded in a happy tone.

"Is that so?"

She replied nonchalantly as she leaned back to look at the sky. It was clear blue.

"Are you still scared?"

He asked, and the child shook her head.

She wasn't afraid of other people's gazes anymore.

As her arms opened up. Her eyes started to take on the surroundings.

Fields of crops and small houses were present over a large distance.

It was the feeling of being in a village.

"Teacher, do you know the types of crops farmers grow here?"

"Mainly corn or wheat, the components for bread. Sometimes farmers grow their own personal garden to produce other vegetables like potatoes or carrots."

"Mmmm, carrots, are those your favorite?"

"Well, not exactly. While they do provide a good amount of nutrients, it's better to eat them with something big in calories. Especially if you do hard labor."

"I see, are you still an active adventurer?"

"No, but I serve as the area's guard. In truth, I'm basically still in my prime."

The child nodded. Rabbit-men usually have much higher living expectancy compared to humans, averaging around 200 years. For Vesture being around 50 years old. He can be estimated to be 25 in human years.

But it appeared no one in the area cared about that. As the horse passed through the farms, people quietly waved to Vesture.

Yes, to Vesture, another person like themselves.

A bodyguard to them was similar to being a protector of the kingdom. Even if they were to figure out he was from a different race, they would likely not care the slightest.

It is because this was a peaceful village, Aqua realized that the moment she truly opened her eyes.

* * *

 **Note:** Vesture in the light novels/anime/web novel is not actually a rabbit man(at least to my knowledge)

So I finally completed this chapter. And Thanksgiving is here, I'll say this a fitting chapter to end for the holiday. Because of the days off I now have, I can continue to work on chapters 15 and 16.

I might be able to get those chapters out by next week, but of course, not everything goes as plan. If I decided not to put them out, it might be a while before I release those chapters. I want to make sure they are written to the best of my abilities. That is not saying much though lol. I also plan on fixing up the previous chapters abit to fix some grammar stuff, etc. So it is not likely I will be able to push it out.

Also fun fact: Gazef army band was not actually trained by Vesture, so was Igvarge. Also, Orlando, the guy that lives in the Roble Holy Kingdom who appears in volume 12 (minor character), was not actually trained by Vesture. Simply in this story, I'll say they were just to add some flavor to the plot.


	18. Chapter 15

Another hour had passed, they arrived at Quirky Valley.

Aqua finally took her first step into the outside world. A strange sensation seemed to spread around the child's body as her foot landed on the ground.

It was a sense of fulfillment.

"Now," Vesture said from behind, "Let's get started."

"What type of shopping do you need to do?"

"Well, I usually buy all my supplies from a local merchant I know. But I am not sure if they are open. Can you check for me? I need to run other errands."

The child instantly nodded to his request.

"Do you know where it is?"

"Not exactly."

"Just go right on that corner and continued straight. You'll eventually see a big two-story building. Oh, I should give you this just in case something happens."

Vesture stood and handed the child a tomb.

"That magical item alerts me if something dangerous had occurred. Do you see that button at the bottom? Press that, and I'll be alerted to your location."

Aqua nodded and slowly raised her head.

"Thank you, you've taught me a lot these past few days."

"Well, it's only natural."

Aqua could see a slight smile on his face.

"When you grow up and become strong, you should use that strength to protect the weak as well."

"I see, so the purpose of being strong is to become rich and famous."

"No, not like that."

"Just kidding, I understand, it's to protect the weak."

"Mmmm, that's right, make sure you don't cause any trouble to the locals."

"Okay!"

And with that, Aqua took on the path to the merchant's guild by herself.

Since it was in the middle of the day, more people were out than usual. But the child still walked.

The village was quite large when you compared it to other locations. Food stands were in the child's view, and a variety of different people were shopping from place to place.

With the river that flowed through this place, it was inevitable this village would grow more abundant in the future.

No wonder the merchant guild was by the waters. It seemed quite large for one.

" _Maybe this place also serves as an inn."_

That statement served true as Aqua walked passed a food menu. And everything was expensive.

"Does Vesture really shop from this place?"

Most likely. Miss Nabe even gave her the task of seeing if they could handle a trading request. They must undoubtedly be somewhat reliable.

And Alaric did recommend this place to them. They must have some valued items here.

But because of that, it seems they don't get too much business. Over by the windows, the working hours were posted, yet no one seemed to be near the building.

"Oh well."

Aqua went through the doors.

As expected, since no one had parked any horses near the building, there would not be too many people here, besides one person.

" _Is that the owner?"_

Aqua got a better look at the man. He was sitting by a wooden table and had an eye patch on his right eye.

" _Wait... Haven't I seen this person before?"_

That fact was true. Aqua only did not recognize him because of his current appearance.

It was Alaric. His eyes looked dark, and his face looked weary as if he'd been drinking a bit too much.

He was also wearing different clothing. While she was working for Mr. Smith, Alaric usually wore a high-quality rope dressed with many magical enchantments, but here it seemed he was wearing only a brown robe.

However, on the wooden table were many high-quality magical items. The child still didn't know how to identify what tier magic they could hold, but they certainly looked powerful.

"Oh, right."

Aqua almost forgot to thank him.

"Hi Alaric, thank you for addressing Miss Nabe and me here. Because of you, the kind lady here gave us a horse to travel."

He didn't respond

It seemed he was in deep thought.

Now that Aqua noticed it, there was a small scent of something burning inside the building. And it did not smell like burnt food.

"Was there a fire inside?"

If there were, that would make sense why no one was near the building at this moment. However, Alaric shook his head.

"Get out, It's none of your business."

"Get out of the building?"

"Yes, It is closed for today."

"Then can I quickly talk to the owner? I have a request for Miss Nabe and Ves…"

Alaric stood from his chair.

"Do not speak those names in front of me."

Aqua nodded slowly. Alaric still seemed angry from the fact he and his whole team lost a duel against Nabe.

"I apologize. It seems you are busy right now. I'll find the owner myself."

Aqua turned her back and headed towards the other room. But then her thoughts turned sour. She understood why Alaric was why angry at this moment.

" _That was where the smell was coming from."_

Yes, through the next room, next to the kitchen of the building, that entire section of the room was entirely made up of burnt wood.

And a body lay inside the center.

"Is that the owner?"

Aqua spoke softly and turned to face the still drinking Alaric, and he nodded.

Nemel had been burnt to death.

 **Part 2**

Inside a dark cave by Quirky Valley, Cedran and Beaumarchais were on the lookout by the front.

The mission to capture Vesture was in place. Well, that was an understatement, they were simply gathering information on him.

With them were several members of the Windflower Scripture.

Retracing steps is a hard task. It requires much work and a lot of manpower. Most people cannot master this skill, but in the Black Scripture, every member has trained or at least had least some experience in this form of art.

That's why, despite losing some levels, Cedran and Beaumarchais, were chosen in this work.

They have already made connections to many people involved or knew Vesture. One woman who knew him, the merchant named Nemel, was their main target.

Currently, she was still alive and is being interrogated for information about Vesture.

It might seem unnecessary to do this much work. However, at this moment, they did not have enough manpower to guarantee a win against a fight that man. Of course, the Slane Theocracy had plenty of strength. It was only that they did not want to waste too many resources in solving old problems.

That's why Cedran and Beaumarchais were here. They were looking for a way to effortlessly take on Vesture.

Usually, the Slane Theocracy has a kept record of every former member of the Black Scripture. But for Vesture, that was not kept up to date. It was a flaw in the system.

There were various reasons for it. One of them was for the fact was his background before joining the Black Scripture was blurry. It was also due to the fact he moved to a different country.

Record keepers couldn't merely follow him from nation to nation, it would attract unnecessary political conflicts. Therefore, nothing was done.

That was why gathering information about him was taking longer as expected.

Beaumarchais signed and placed his chains of weaponry on his hips, "I bet Nemel doesn't even have a history with that sword master."

Cedran responded, holding several papers to his side, "Based on the record, Nemel always had a friendly trading relation with Vesture."

"I think not, sometimes the 11th seat can get things wrong, did you even find anything about her yet?

"No," He commented, "The woman is still not talking."

"Are you sure Mr. Smith didn't make a mistake?"

"I'm sure. He never makes big mistakes like this. Especially since this is our only way to trace their steps."

"He is so old that his brain is probably messed up. Why do we still keep him in any way? The Slane Theocracy should force him to retire."

"Mr. Smith is planning on taking over an entire city. He has no plans on retiring yet."

"I know we're using that city to fund and supply our military. I think it's only reasonable someone more capable is chosen for that, such as Raymond."

Beaumarchais then closed his mouth and gnashed his teeth together.

"I just think using this woman is an unreliable way of information gathering."

"That's why we brought some members of The Windflower Scripture with us to use mind-reading magic."

"But what if we still don't find out any information? It's faster to simply head towards Vesture's location and fight him head-on. I bet I'll be able to fight him myself."

"You don't understand. Before your time, he rivaled the 3rd seat."

"Right, right, I also know you were no match for him when you were young."

"That's why we need to be careful. The Black Scripture is also testing if we are going to be ready for combat."

"Why don't we wait until he comes back to Quirky Valley and ambush him?"

"Being outside for too long is risky. Plus, we don't know how often he comes there."

"Don't remind me. If that's the case, then how is it going with our illusionist friend?"

"You should know how it works, it takes a while for mind-reading magic to be done."

Unlike high-level beings like Lord Ainz, they didn't have access to such high tier mind-reading magic. Thus, they had to resort to using much more complex means.

However, it was still reliable. But not was their ability to hide crime scenes.

"That fellow named Alaric… wait no, his real name is Jet, right? Cedran questioned, and Beaumarchais nodded, "Hopefully, that man doesn't connect us to the crime."

Beaumarchais glanced at Cedran. This was the reason why they were on guard duty.

"If you hadn't underestimated that lady, this problem wouldn't have occurred."

Yes, despite Cedran years of experienced in battle, he underestimated the power that women held.

"Hmm 3rd tier magic, If only I knew she had magic items that could cast those spells."

"No shit, she ran a merchant's guild."

"Right, right."

On the mission to capture Nemel. She resistant and cast several 3rd tier fire spells for self-defense. By no means did they affect Cedran, but of course, that spell burnt the room.

There was magic to hide and reverse the effects of burnt wood. But before they could cover up the crime scene. Jet appeared at the building.

"Knowing him, he might be able to do it."

Cedran said that statement, and his teammate started giving him some weird looks.

"That crazy guy?"

"Before he went crazy, he was one of the lead researchers in the Baharuth Empire of Wild Magic, correct?"

"Oh, right, but I don't think that is a valid reason to rate his skills. He and all of the other dumb asses didn't even know they were researching Wild Magic. Even one of the researchers accidentally killed their client because of it"

"You might be right. If that's the case. Then in his current mental condition, that man is close to death's door."

"I am right, I bet he won't be able to realize the dead body we placed there was fake."

"That's true, all the evidence that could be traced back to us were burnt in the fire."

Both of them nodded to that fact.

But what they didn't know was that someone else was going to be with Jet to solve this mystery.

However, it looks like it will take a while for them to solve that puzzle.

* * *

Across the room, Jet threw his cup of booze to the floor.

"Hahaha, you see now? I'm screwed, this place is screwed."

The man slowly kneeled to the floor. The first thing that happens when he comes back home is this.

A murder.

Worse of all, it was Nemel.

She was a childhood friend of Jet back in the day. While looking at the past would not help him at this moment. Nemel was the only person who understood him. She even went with him when he went on the run after killing that noble Rangobart.

Indeed, she was a friend everyone would want to have.

One would think a person would stick that person forever if that was the case. But for Jet, that was not. This was because he was still hung up for revenge for Adamantite adventurers. One of them was named Nabe.

He was so busy figuring out a way to defeat her that he had entirely forgotten about the lack of security this place had.

Ever since they started living here. Nemel started a business, and Jet became an adventurer to make funds to keep it running.

Thus, they had to decide how to spend their budget. In the end, they mostly spent all their funds into buying powerful magical items for himself to use and for Nemel to sell.

However, they never considered placing in security measures. Nemel herself held several powerful magic crystals just in case a fight broke out. Jet thought that would be enough, yet Nemel always said it might be wise to invest in some guards, but of course, that was not agreed on, and instead, they used alert magic to secure the building.

But someone could have disabled it.

And that was true.

This murder must have been done by a professional.

The magical barriers were broken. Nemel body was also burned, leaving no trace of evidence back to the murders.

" _Was it the tax collects, or Eight Fingers?"_

That thought briefly passed his mind, but then it turned into reality. It must have been the case.

He and Nemel always been having problems keeping the place afloat. Powerful magical items cost very much. It was only because of the fact several wealthy adventurers come here every now and then, this place was able to be kept afloat for several years.

But it seems that this way of living couldn't last forever.

Jet stood up, he was going to get more booze.

But he stopped, that child was still there.

"It's a murder scene, what's so great in looking at one?"

"Sorry, was this person important to you?"

"That's none of your business, now get out."

"Wouldn't it be best to get guards?"

"The guards? What are they going to do? Find the killers?"

Alaric looked around the area, and there was no trace of evidence found in that ash pit room.

All of it would have been burnt in the flames that were in the room.

Yet the child still stood inside there.

"Don't you want justification in this murder?"

That was a word Jet didn't expect to hear.

"It's too late for that. Now go away. It's only natural that the weak die."

"A rabbit once told me that the strong is there to protect the weak."

"Is that quote from a kid's books? Sorry to say, but that ideal is false."

The child seemed to listen, but looked focused on something.

"Do you know the name of the deceased person over there?"

"Its Nemel."

"Did you check Nemel's condition for any trace of blood?"

"Obviously, I have the ability to use magic to identify blood, but none of that can be found as you see!"

Jet spread his arms wide open to express the stupid question the child had just questioned. Of course, there wouldn't be any blood found here. All of it was burnt up in the fire.

That included fluids inside and outside the dead person.

"If you are thinking this person not Nemel, then I already tried. This person is Nemel."

Jet made sure of that when he used the Scroll of Object Location. It's a spell that could locate a person if you have the person's favorite belonging or body substance like blood.

And when he used it on the body, the scroll simply gave the vision of this body right here.

"And just in case you're wondering, knowing the time of death wouldn't matter anyway. None of this matters, the murders likely already moved far away from this place."

He then knocked down one of the wooden tables in front of him, and the child ducked her head. This investigation was pointless.

Ever since he came here, he had shut down the building to investigate this murder for hours, and he had not found anything.

Sooner or later, the village guards would show up and take the body. The only evidence of Nemel's murders.

" _Tck."_

Jet didn't realize how hard he pushed that table to the ground. That child should be scared deathless right now.

But she was looking at something.

"Hair."

"Its hair, so what, even if it's Nemel's hair, she's already dead."

"But I found it in the burnt room. If Nemel was killed by fire, wouldn't all her hair be burnt too?"

The child took a closer look at the hair.

"The hair follicle is even at the ends of it."

"Hair Follicle?"

"It's the white stuff that is at the end of everyone's hair, but usually it doesn't come out of the head unless it is pulled out forcefully. Don't you guys sell powerful magic items here? Maybe Nemel used some of them and accidentally burnt the room. And then the murderers forcefully attacked her."

"So, Hair?"

It made sense. If the murders used fire to burn the body and the entire room. Everything should have been made to ashes.

Yet there stood some hair.

The color was the same as Nemel. Yet using the scroll of object location didn't work beforehand. So it confused Jet why some hair was left behind.

That was it.

It was only a theory, but the reason why the scroll of object location didn't work and only showed the picture of that dead body was because there was a magic barrier interfering with the scroll. And to get rid of that barrier, all he needed to do was get out of the range of it.

There was some hope.

Jet was out of the room before Aqua could say something. He ran to the room where he kept all his best magical items.

Not to the place where he and Nemel stock their storage. Of course, they were of high quality. But when compared to his secret treasures, they were below a tier.

Two tiers, in fact. When comparing the average power level of the equipment he had while fighting Mr. Smith, he would totally look like a different person wearing his best gear.

That's why those items were hidden. It was located under the building. Possibly where that magical barrier was lacking in range.

The usual process was to make sure everyone was out of the building before opening it.

Yet it did not matter at this moment, this was an urgent situation.

In the back building, just before the exit towards the outside. Lied a hidden door inside the floors.

There was a basement, yet it was not part of the main building, no one knew about it besides him and Nemel.

But it was still in good condition. The walls were made of stone, and what appeared around the whole basement were many containers with locks.

Scrolls and magical crystals that could cast 5th tier magic were stored in here.

And the most important thing at this moment also rested here. It was the scroll of Object Location.

As Jet opened the hidden door and went inside, the child followed suit. She followed him here.

"Quick, give me the hair."

The girl calmly followed through.

With the scroll now in his hands, he swiftly hesitated.

Scrolls such as these were very rare in this world. Before this, he held 4, but now he only had 2.

If this hair was not truly Nemel's, then this would have been a waste of around 30 gold coins.

Yet, he still threw it into the air.

It vaporized mid-way falling and a mirror starting to form.

Yes, an image appeared.

"Is that her?"

The child spoke. Jet smiled. It was the first time in a while.

His hands formed into a fist, and he turned his back from the mirror. He knew where that place was.

In was in a cave. There was only one cave close to the capital city. Since the burnt marks inside the room didn't seem old. They must still be at that location.

And thus, Jet would have his revenge, or you could say his justice.

Across the secret room, he quickly scattered to find all the magical items he'll need for this fight. Because of that crime scene was set up. They must be professionals.

Hence, they could have an organization backing them up, such as the Eight fingers. If he had to face against them. Surely it would seem like an impossible task for him to do.

But that was not the case with his best gear.

He had been saving it to fight a certain retired Adamantite adventurer. Therefore, he left some of his trump cards behind.

But certainly, with the gear he was equipping, unless they were on the skill level of Brain or Gazef, they would indeed be defeated by Jet.

And once they realize how foolish they were to challenge him, he will torture and throw them into prison.

Yes, he couldn't wait to see their faces as he single-handedly kills everyone there.

After that, he'll get Nemel out of there and receive fame and riches for defeating a large criminal organization.

There was no way he could lose this chance to torture everyone who done him wrong.

"Are you going to save Nemel yourself?"

The child stared at Jet as he grabbed his items.

"Yea, did you want to come to?

"No, but I know some people who could help you."

"Tck, I don't need their help."

Why ask for help when you could do solve the problem yourself? Alaric certainly learned that lesson after adventuring with many weak humans. They would only steal the credit and the money he would earn.

"But I know they would help you."

"No, they will not."

Jet pushed the child away and headed towards the last piece of equipment he'll need.

It was hung on the wall.

There rested a magical robe that was made by the best tailors around here. It offered complete protection against mind control, poison, and many other lethal conditions that he may come across in this battle.

It also had the ability to protect against tier magic to a certain point and provided resistance to melee weapons.

It was truly a magical rope any mage would love to have.

"You see this masterpiece? Now you believe I could save Nemel myself?"

Any child would scream in excitement at the sight of this masterpiece. The accessories, the material's texture, the color.

It was one of the rarest magical items Jet actually had to work for instead of stealing it.

"It looks okay."

"Tck, you have bad taste in magic."

It seemed this child doesn't understand the value of magic items here.

However, with everything in his bag, he'll be ready to fight this criminal organization.

8 summonings of Angel Guardians.

Jet did not understand how to summon one. Therefore, he'd brought several summoning crystals from the Roble Holy Kingdom. However, these were different, they were specialized in defending the caster. If ranked, their defense value would be higher than a gold-ranked adventurer.

Next were several 5th tier magic crystals. Some were fire-based, able to deal with a large number of enemies. The next several were lightning-based spells able to penetrate almost any type of armor in humanity.

Jet tested this spell once, and it was able to even penetrate through Orichalcum.

It was undoubtedly the perfect equipment to deal with higher-level beings.

And now, he counted his potions and scrolls. He had all healing and anti-poison potions he'll need, with the addition of several trap scrolls just in case he needs to sneak inside.

And his staff, it was personally designed by Fluder and crafted by the best of the best when he was still a student at the Baharuth Empire.

It increased his magical power to over 150 percent.

With these items in hand, he could possibly beat Adamantite adventurers.

"Alright, I'm done, now get out kid."

Jet pushed the child towards the exit.

And now both of them were outside. He couldn't wait to fight those who'd harmed him.

It'll be an easy victory for himself. Just in case the battle would be too intense, he had a teleportation and invisible scroll if something terrible happens.

But there was almost no chance of that happening.

Across the horse stable, he selected the perfect beast he'll use to reach the cave. Then finally, he climbed up it and started to move forward.

"Oh,"

The child was still there.

"Do me a favor and lock the building, would you?"

"Okay, but I'm still worried you might not be able to save Nemel by yourself."

The kid must be power scaling him from the time he dueled Nabe.

"This time is different, you'll see once the king rewards me with riches."

"Okay."

And with that, Jet went forward.

* * *

The sun already passed peak hours as Jet passed through the grasslands. The fields of battle were near, and Jet started to recant his battle plans.

Most likely he won't need one, he'll simply do the basics such as checking for traps and whatnot. Scouting the enemy would not be necessary.

His equipment would be strong enough to deal with anyone around here anyway.

And even if he wanted to scout, he still didn't know the condition Nemel was in. She could be severely injured or near death.

More so, the main leader of the capture, would have more time to get away if Jet simply wasted his time gathering information.

Therefore, this was the best opinion Jet could come up with. The cave to the bandit's area was nearing.

The entrance was dark, and it seemed no one had been here for quite some time.

No defenses were set in place, nor was it ideal for a hideout. The height to the rooftop was about 2.5 meters and 5 meters wide from where Jet would see.

However, they could have picked this spot to create confusion in their location.

Jet was no stranger to this type of tactic. He had seen the use of it dozens of times before.

Most people who would doubt if their objective was in an obvious location. But in this case, they wouldn't fool him. They were about to be proven wrong and foolish for not analyzing his intelligence correctly.

" _Oh, right."_

He couldn't forget about the traps he might encounter here.

Therefore, he took off his eye patch.

Many bandits and assassins loved using illusions.

That Adamantite adventurer had always told him to keep it on to not draw any unneeded attention.

It had a different eye color than what most humans had around here. Therefore, someone could quickly tell if he was using his talent or not.

But this wasn't always the case. Ever since he left the empire, his talent in his eye had become more prominent.

Which is the reason his former regular eye turned into this.

But that was a good thing.

It was now powerful enough to see through any illusions such as the ones he countered with the mage Nabe.

Thus, no assassin would be prepared to fight his countermeasures. But he still had to be on guard.

Jet readied his staff.

[Alert field]

Since he was entering a cave, he still had to make sure there wasn't anything in there suspicious such as monsters.

"Alright, this will be enough."

He didn't activate any support spells on himself yet. Most had a time limit. It might be meaningless to use them at the start.

For all he knew, the cave was more massive inside, and he'll have to face a small army to rescue her.

So he decided the best choice was to save his mana and supplies for dangerous situations.

Besides, as he walked through the cave, he didn't see anything harmful.

Just in case, he was sure to soften his footsteps. Jet didn't have a spell like this. It was merely the boots he was wearing that provided this feature.

It lowered the chances of getting caught by a sudden ambush. The use of hearing is a widespread method for hunters and bandits. Thus, removing this and any advantage the enemy would have will be beneficial.

But again, doing all this preparation might have been for nothing, the enemy might not be here at all. But those thoughts were quickly stopped.

40 meters inside the cave. Jet's eyes widen.

There was a trap, and it was covered up by illusion magic.

" _Perfect,"_

This was likely the correct location. What type of person would place such a high-quality trap inside here?

As Jet observed the trap, it was well crafted. The trap had a mechanism to transmit the spell [message] to specific people if someone was to pass by it.

It also looked to host an explosion mechanism. Most likely, it was to blow up the rooftop to block or trap someone.

Yet, it seemed it was designed to blow up after a certain point in which he passed by the mechanism.

Therefore, he should remove it. But he could leave it alone.

The trap was placed in a position where he could move past it without being detected. But it could get in the away in the future.

However, it could possibly help him if the enemy was foolish enough to fall for their own weapons.

Thus, he left it in place.

And he felt a cold shoulder.

His spell [Alert Field] sent a reaction to his brain.

Someone was coming. No, it was not one person, but several people. And to his knowledge, they were coming from the deeper part of the cave.

Jet ready his staff.

Did he miss a secret hidden mechanism in that trap?

" _Dammed,"_

Regardless, he was prepared. He even had one hand on his belt to send out a 5th tier magic spell if it was someone powerful.

But that was not needed.

" _is this what all they got?_

5 goblins appeared from the shadows.

But they were armed.

If a group of villagers was to face them, they would undoubtedly get slaughtered.

Yet to him, this was child's play.

"Hmm, no matter, The enemy must know I am already here."

With that knowledge, Alaric didn't have to hold back.

"[Flame arrow]"

Several arrows coated in heat flew and brought down the weak creatures. If the enemies haven't noticed him yet, the sound of goblins burning to death must have surely notified them.

And it did, two people in the darkest part of the cave were now seen. Jet could only briefly see the outline of their figure.

"Both of you there, did you see what had become of your goblins? This is what will happen to you if you don't surrender to me."

There was no response.

They must be desperately trying to think of a way to get out of here alive.

But that was foolish thinking.

"So Cedran, is this the all-intelligent mage caster named Jet you were talking about?"

" _Did he just say my name?"_

The only ones who should that information are whose inside the Baharuth Empire. Therefore, were these men from the empire and were here jail him and Nemel? Was this the reason why she was kidnapped?

Jet slowed his breathing, if that were the case, this fight should be a bit hard. Jet was not a wanted criminal. But for killing Rangobart, and for being on the run for several years, his bounty might have gone up a bit.

Thus, it made sense of how professional these guys were in kidnaping Nemel. They were likely on par with the strength of at least Mithril adventurers.

But that thought came to an end when they appeared from the shadows.

If you could describe Jet's main equipment. They could be described as nobly. But the men Jet was facing. They had armor and weapons clearly looking to be on a different level.

The first man to come out was old, yet he was wearing armor that looked much better crafted than the Re-Estize Kingdom's national treasure.

And his primary weapon, duel shields. Jet knew that one of the current four imperial knights drove into this fighting style.

He has seen him once, but this man right here looked much more powerful. In fact, so much so it is likely that imperial knight likely took inspiration of this fighting style from him.

But that would only make sense, the man in front of him looked like he had a higher defensive rating than the legendary creatures, Death Knights.

Death Knights were said to have defense rivaling dragons, and this man right here, just by looking at his gear, you could tell he was in the same ballpark as these legendary creatures.

And the man next to him was not wearing as prominent armor, but it was his weapons that gave Jet the feeling of death.

The way they sounded as they clashed against the ground.

They share a bewitching design. The most prominent weapon he had was his whip. It was not made of leather, but looked to be coated in a metal stronger than Adamantite. To add on that, there was something on his whip. There was a beating heart glowing from the end of the tip.

Clearly, these men were on a completely different tier to Mithril, no possibly even to the four imperial knights.

Those four wouldn't stay a chance against these two beings.

Therefore, there was no way the empire sent these people to capture him.

But then again, why did they capture Nemel?

Jet snapped out of it. He had to stay calm, these guys were completely out of his league. Not even with his trump card, he would be able to win.

So then the best course of action was to talk out of this.

"It seems you have mistaken me for someone else, I'm not Jet."

"The looks in your eyes tells me differently."

Jet complete forgot to cover up his eye with the eyepatch.

The taller one, then spoke.

"We've underestimated your investigation abilities, but because of that, it will be your doom."

He drew his dual shields. The man behind him followed suit.

" _Shit,"_

It was a bad idea to come here alone.

Without thinking, Jet pulled out several of his magical crystals and fired some spells; 5th tier magic. A tier that only the best mages around the world could possibly cast. Anyone who's not above the strength of a gold rank adventurer would most likely die in a single hit.

However, Jet felt it would not be enough,

Therefore, he had to make a defense.

Upon firing the spell. A massive fireball formed like arrows shot down towards them.

While they were distracted by the arrows. Jet decided to summon the angels.

Because he didn't have some of the requirements to summon them. He resorted to using magical crystals. Truly they were useful.

Even if they were stronger than Adamantite adventurers, these summonings should at least survive a few hits.

It would give Jet enough time to counter their attack. Therefore, 6 of them were summoned.

Jet prepared another magic crystal. Any of his own use magic would not do the job of killing these men.

But he simply couldn't use all of his best cards at once.

So, then the best opinion is to use his 3rd tier magic spells to weaken the enemy and use his magical crystals to hit the enemy at their weak spots.

But it seems he'll rethink how he'll be able to do that.

As the fire died out in the cave, two large shields were covering Jet's view.

Almost no damage was on those large shields.

That man was going to be a problem. He'll have to use lighting piercing to even get a chance at hurting him. The other man didn't look to be as heavily armored. Still, his weapon looked as if it could possibly destroy those angels in a single hit.

And now that he thought of it. He didn't see him.

Where did he go?

Afraid, Jet wanted to use [Dimensional Move] to relocate himself. But to reassure himself, the angels would be able to protect him.

Yet they were gone. All 6 of them were gone.

Had they've been taken out all at once?

Surely not, with a defensive rating higher than frozen giants, surely they would be able to survive a few blows.

Yet that was false.

Six explosions bloomed like flowers around Jet. He quickly realized what had happened.

The beating heart at the end of that man's whip. Likely, that weapon itself had the ability to activate an explosive spell every time it hit something.

Since his angels were killed in a single hit, the combined forces of the explosion and the kinetic energy of the whip likely took them down instant.

Luckily the explosions were not big enough to reach Jet's body. He'll have to use this chance to teleport.

But he felt a cold strike around his arm.

It was the whip.

He didn't even get the time to teleport out of the way.

" _How did he get here so fast?"_

The distance between themselves was at least 10 meters. It was impossible for one human travel that far, kill 6 angels at once, and surprised a target in a span of a few moments.

Yet, it appeared true. There was no trick into it. These men were just that powerful.

Since the angles were destroyed in a single hit, Jet would fare no different. Yet he still hoped for the best.

As soon as the whip hit his body. Jet activated all the magical defenses he knew.

Then he braced himself for a hard impact, there was no guarantee he could still survive. But it seemed it was just enough. As Jet was hit, an explosion bloomed into action, and he was sent flying.

Just from the impact from the weapon, he could feel his entire body being destroyed.

What made it worse as that the walls around him were stone.

There was no cushion as Jet was slammed into the cave.

If this fight was near the entrance. He would have surely been blown out.

Yet, since this was inside. He was only nailed down deeper into the cave's wall. It took more than a meter of solid stone for the blow to be finally stopped.

If it wasn't for the fact that he was wearing his magical rope and for all those defensive spells, that would have been his death.

But perhaps that may have been a better opinion.

He couldn't move his body at all.

He'd been in many fights over the years, but never before, he'd received this much damage from a single hit from a human.

No, it was likely one of the most powerful impacts he'd ever survived.

As he looked around his legs and arms, they were still intact, but his right arm was disabled. It was the first limb to be caught the deadly chains the man wielded.

Next were his legs, while they did not take the full blow of the weapon. The impact of hitting the stone walls surely thought to make them unusable.

And his ribs. Jet could not tell at first, but they should clearly be broken.

If he was out of mana, this would have been the end for him, but it was not.

[Heal]

He used his own mana since he was too injured to even grab hold of one of his magical crystals. And once the spell was in effect. He used one of his 4th tier healing magic crystals.

Now, he wasn't completely recovered, but it was enough that he could use his right arm once more.

But just by taking one hit from those men, he ended up like this.

There was no way he could beat them.

He bit his lip.

Such unfortunate luck. Throughout his entire life, he faced many powerful foes who stood on top of humanity.

That retired Adamantite adventurer, Mr. Smith, Fluder. Nabe.

As luck may have it, he would not meet any other people stronger than himself unless he searched for it.

But of course, that was not the case. Somehow danger always came his way.

" _Dammit,"_

He couldn't think of how terrible his life had been at this moment, he had to escape. Since the enemy had not attacked him yet, were they now toying with him?

That was likely the case.

When he was hit, that created a lot of rubble. Thus, smoke covered his appearance.

They might think he was dead.

That would be the best-case scenario. It was also logical. Any mage of Jet's level would have been killed from that attacked.

So Jet went with that assumption.

This was the best time to escape.

Luckily, he brought along a teleport scroll. Whenever used, it would transport the user back to a specified location.

That would be his room in Nemel's Merchant Guild.

However, when he brought it out. It was not working. Anti-teleportation magic must have been activated.

They were truly professionals.

There was only one opinion of escape now.

That was to run. With his legs now healed, it was possible. But the chance of escaping was only very little.

" _First, I should check if the enemies are still there."_

Jet had a rare magical crystal able to detect incoming objects or people around him. He did not use it from the start since he only had one of these items.

Now, this was the best time to use it.

Without making any light, the magic activated, and Jet was given a vision of the enemy's current location.

Once he confirms it, he'll use invisibility magic to escape from here. With his shoes of silence. He should be able to escape unless they have items able to see through illusions.

If not, then he'll have to think of another plan.

But that was not the case.

If they had some idea of his condition, they wouldn't be standing so far from his location.

"They must think I am dead."

Now that he had gotten this fact, he activated his invisibility spell.

It was time to run.

However, the man with chains started moving again.

He was not walking but looked to be spinning his whip.

"He's going to make sure I'm finished."

Jet quickly ducked and ran. A small explosion appeared where he once was. It would be wise to look back to see where the explosion hit, but Jet couldn't lose any second running away.

"Dammit,"

Jet kept chanting that word to himself. This was a suicidal move. Obviously, if they were this powerful, they would have a countermeasure to deal with invisibility magic.

And that seems true, as Jet heard some footsteps behind him.

But he was 30 meters away from the exit.

He was not a fast runner, yet he should be able to make it to the exit.

But that man's speed was well beyond humanity, there was no way he could escape.

The crashing of chains grew more apparent.

This was a foolish move, but Jet turned back and decided to use one of his magic crystals to buy some more time.

But it was too late.

His body was too slow to move away from that blow.

The whip was aimed at his vital organs. It would inevitably end his life right then and there.

But it did not.

Only his eyes grew in aggravation.

One would usually be grateful if someone saved their life. But not Jet. Especially if it's that person.

With his talented eye opened, he could effortlessly tell who it was.

That illusion spell wouldn't keep his hatred from rising from below.

It was Vesture.

The explosion did not appear when he parried that attack. Did it only active when the whip's tip hits an object?

Jet shook his head. He couldn't think straight.

The only thing that was in his mind was Vesture.

While it was pointless thinking about that man, he still cannot keep his anger from coming out.

This was because this was the man who Jet always wanted to kill.

The person who made Jet start the path to his sickening life and to his mother's death.

Knowing him, he wouldn't simply deflect that blow for him.

Therefore, they must have been aiming that blow towards Vesture himself.

" _Tck."_

Jet didn't have time to deal with Vesture.

The only thing he could do now is run.

* * *

Note: Well, here we go again xD. Thanks for reading this and keeping up with the story. I don't have a clear schedule for updating this story because I usually write it for fun. Because of that, feel free to mention if you think or feel like there is an error or plot hole in the story. I may have missed a lot with the upcoming chapters.


	19. Chapter 15 part 2

"So, Vesture."

Tension grew in both of their eyes. Vesture held his hand insight and stared at the list of possibilities he had to win this fight.

But knowing those two. That would not happen. He would have to pay the full price to buy those books.

"Alright, you win."

"Hm, I told you Vesture, you can't win at bargaining with me."

Currently, Vesture was shopping at Quirky Valley. The school was running low on essential equipment. So, he was tasked to get some. None of his co-workers were free around this time.

And Aqua had just broken one of his costly equipment. Granted, it was already in terrible condition. He was hoping it would last a few more weeks.

But of course, things don't always go as planned.

Still, the hammer shouldn't have broken or had that reaction when the child wielded it.

"That was weird."

Yes, Vesture did help the child a little by using Blood Bane.

It might have been a weapon malfunction why it acted that way. And regardless, it broke in the end.

Vesture had better things to worry about, such as spending his time wisely. Quirky Valley was quite far from the school. And with the day being at peak hours, the village was quite busy.

In fact, more than usual. Something must have recently came forth.

"Hey, " Vesture asked, "Do you know why the streets are so busy?"

"You don't know?"

Vesture shook his head.

"One of the newest Adamantite adventurers came here recently and bought something."

"Ah,"

Vesture already had an idea who that was.

"So, what happened, did she buy everything you had?"

"No. She came here during the night. So she only brought something at the merchant guild."

"Was it something expensive?"

"No, have you seen her? Her black hair, posture, everything about her can be described as beautiful and noble-like. She must have come from a foreign country."

"Well, you don't see people with black hair that often."

"That's right. Nemel took advantage of that and was able to sell her a horse. And now, many people who saw that adventurer associated that purchase to this village."

"Hm, so now there's an increase in popularity around here."

"Exactly!"

Vesture nodded to that fact. At first, he did underestimate the influence Nabe had on the country. Even though she hasn't done anything internationally, the commoners still favored her.

But it seemed that the people here were over-exaggerating the influence her group had.

No one seemed to know that Nabe was a pretty hard person to get along with. Vesture already knew that. Some other people likely knew that as well.

But she was still young-looking. She had plenty of time to improve. If Vesture had to estimate, she looked around 18 years old. Not only that, wasn't she teamed up with another person?

"Do you know anything about Momon?"

"That guy? You don't know yet?"

Vesture shook his head. He has been quite busy these past few weeks.

"That guy's strength is monstrous, he was able to kill an entire army of the undead, two skeletal dragons, and the squad of magic casters all in a single night."

"Hmm, that does sound impressive."

No wonder Nabe's strength was so prominent despite being a mage. When they dueled, It was outright unexpected when he first felt her attacks.

Pure warriors would have a hard time achieving the strength she held.

And now, if Momon was Nabe's teachers, that spoke even more of his power.

"Vesture no offense, but it sounds like that guy might be stronger than you or even the Warrior captain."

"Haha, you might be right."

If what Momon's said achievements were true, that would make him stronger than Gazef. While he would be able to do that feat, that was only if he had the kingdom's national treasures with him. Gazef wouldn't merely have enough stamina to defeat an entire army of the undead.

And for himself, that question was obvious.

"Well, it was nice meeting up with you."

"Yea, come back later and give me more money!"

That merchant seemed quite excited from all the profits he earned today.

But that was to be expected. It was busy today after all. The streets were filled with villagers. From time to time, he'll see several middle-class citizens walk down the street.

" _Hm,"_

He better check on the child. With all of these people around, it would be easy to get lost. But, it appeared he wouldn't have to worry about that.

Across the crowds of people, a blond child was running through the crowds.

That was a little surprising. Aqua had a cold look on her face. Did something happen?

"Vesture!"

The child yelled out that name.

"Hm, what's the matter?"

"The Merchant's guild."

"Oh, is it closed?"

If it was, then Vesture would have to come here next week to get the supplies. And that would be a pain.

Yet the child shook her head.

"That's not the problem, it is an emergency. Nemel…"

"Nemel?"

Aqua lend closer to Vesture's ears.

"She is the owner of the guild, and someone kidnapped her."

 _"A kidnapping?"_

Not only that, but in broad daylight? That as certainly strange.

More so when you consider this was a village. News travels fast around here. In that case, he and a few others should have heard of this news.

But since this was not the case, the kidnapping must have been recent.

No wonder why the child was secretive about telling him this information. Talks of kidnapping could cause panic. And if the kidnappers were still here, it would make a great coverup to escape.

But again, Vesture didn't understand the reason why people would want to capture Nemel.

While they did have some loans and money to pay back. It would be unusual for one to go that far.

"Don't worry, I'll get help and make some preparations to save her, okay?"

Her face turned dark. There was something else to worry about.

"No, you don't understand, a mage named Alaric is already on his way to save her, but he is going to do it by himself."

There was only one name; one person who would be crazy to do that.

"Hm, that makes things a bit more complex. He might kill himself."

Vesture said that with a slight happy expression on his face. He wanted to calm the child down, yet that was not working. Obviously, he used the wrong wording.

"He will get himself killed, the people who kidnapped Nemel were professionals."

"Professionals?"

"Yes, the crime scene. They placed a dead body there to make us think she was dead."

That brought a surprise to Vesture. If the kidnappers wanted Nemel to pay back the money she owned, they would have made a runaway note. But in this case, they wanted to make people think she was dead.

Clearly, this wasn't an act of lust. But something else. And that made Vesture feel a slight discomfort.

" _If it is whose people, then Jet wouldn't stand a chance. Nor will I."_

"Do you know where Alaric went?"

"He said they were at the nearest cave from here."

A small sign of relief came from Vesture. If they are in that location, he might be able to get there in time.

"Listen, Aqua, this might become dangerous, but no matter what, do not tell the guards."

"The guards?"

"Yes, this might be too big for them to handle."

If it is them, no, it is them. All the strange events that had been happening lately. There was no reason that the Black Scripture had came here at last.

Knowing them, they were gathering information on him before they finally strike.

And Nemel was one of the first stones to that plan.

" _This is my fault."_

No, it was not entirely his fault. It still wondered Vesture why they were after him.

Numerous possibilities came up in his head, but none seemed valid enough.

He could only assume the worst-case scenario that they were here to kill him, but that possibility was little.

However, he could not disregard it. If that was the case, It'd be best to escape and create a new identity. Yet, he still had to worry about his students and Nemel.

If Jet comes in there with the lust of killing, that will create some problems.

Therefore, to stop that. Vesture must go there.

If he doesn't, Jet and Nemel might lose their lives. What's worse is that they could go after one of his students next.

Surely it was a lousy situation Vesture could not leave alone.

"What are you going to do then?"

Vesture looked at the confused child.

"Well, I serve as a village guard. It is only natural I'll save them."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

Currently, Vesture did not have the best gear on him. But that could be easily solved. This was a booming village with many trades and items now being on sale.

Of course, none of the items here rivaled national treasures. But they were still better than nothing. The only thing he'll have to worry about is his budget, the armor, and potions.

He didn't need to buy any weapons since he already had one.

Not counting the sword on his hip, he had a talent able to store about a few dozen items at once.

Every seated member in the Black Scripture had at least one unique talent. And ever since Vesture was born, he always had this strange ability.

From what he remembered from the Black Scripture, only gods, or rather the race called "Players," could access this ability he had.

It was called [Item Box].

The gods were said to be able to carry and store hundreds of items with this ability. But for Vesture, his ability worked differently. First off, his talent only allows him to store up to 100 pounds of equipment.

That was a big downside, but it does have its uses, such as storing money and swords. Armor would be too heavy to be placed in there.

But fighting the Black Scripture head-on without equipment was a death wish.

That was an understatement, even if he had all the preparation in the world. There would only be a good chance of him saving Jet, Nemel, and clearing suspicion of his students.

In terms of him surviving combat with them, that was a death wish.

So to improve that chance, he prepared his wallet, and to make things faster, it would be best to have the child's help.

"Aqua, can you go to the potion store and buy me some?"

"Yes."

"Okay, give me a moment. I have to write down a list."

Vesture couldn't merely rely upon the child remembering everything he'll say. The list of items he'll need was long. The Black Scripture is very unpredictable. He could be going into a fight that involved poison, traps, arrows, or hunger in that matter.

So to make sure the child got things right, a list was needed to be made. All of those potions would likely cost 30 gold coins.

While Vesture was an Adamantite adventurer in the past, it's been dozens of years since he had that title. Even that much money would hurt his financial income.

Yet, he gave the coins to the child.

This would be a very bad idea for obvious reasons.

But Vesture had to hurry.

The first store he went to was the blacksmith.

It was quite small. There were only two rooms in the building, but it was filled with all types of equipment ranging from copper to platinum plate armor. Besides the merchant guild, this was the best place to buy body protection.

While there were better deals out there. There was no time to look for other trades. As a result, this was the best choice.

"Sell me your best armor."

The merchant was surprised at first, but happily agreed to Vesture's demand.

"Wise choice."

"Yes, can you go over the details of the armor very quickly?"

"Of course, It is mostly made out of Mithril, but Orichalcum is mixed into the armor to provide extra defense. Because of that, it still has the quiet movement that Mithril provides. Including the lightweight features."

"Okay, how much is it, and will it fit me?"

"Yes, the armor will change its shape to adjust to the wearer. And It only cost 100 gold coins."

" _That's a lot of money."_

Vesture does make a salary far beyond the norm. The protection services he offers were one of the primary sources of income, but Vesture still had to split all of that money to his co-workers and such.

Thus, he only had a yearly salary of 100 gold coins when including all the ways he earns money.

So in other words, this would be a year's worth of salary he'll be spending.

That price would genuinely be a punch to his wallet. Even more so since he didn't have all that money on him. Therefore, he had to use his [item box].

If it functioned like how the gods used it. A small portal would appear from Vesture's hand. But in his case, that did not happen. The most differentiating feature of his talent is that he's able to instantly summon items at any place on his body by merely thinking of the object he needs.

The opposite was true when he needed to store an item. If he simply touches an object, Vesture could instantly transport it to his [Item Box], depending on its size.

So if he wanted to transport a larger object such as a shield, that would take about 7 to 12 seconds.

Hence, if he wanted to, he could possibly steal the item, but those days were far behind him.

It's best to summon gold coins in his hands instead of doing the latter.

The payment was already on the counter.

"Hm, going on a dangerous adventure?"

Vesture quickly raised his head.

While it was true he was in a rush, Vesture didn't even take the time to look at the merchant. His face was young-looking, there were no signs of twinkles on his cheeks or eyes. He was likely a family member helping out the business.

Usually, an acquaintance of Vesture would be serving at this shop, but it appeared that was not the case. Yet he still answered truthfully.

"Yes,"

"Hm, my father was a fan of you back in the day, and this armor perfectly fits your style, right?"

There was a small nod.

Back when Vesture was an adventurer, he always wore full plate armor. Many people knew him by that appearance. However, that style of choice was not on purpose.

Since Vesture always used his human appearance, he had to keep watch for mages who could bypass his illusionary appearance.

But since his retirement, he became more casual about it.

Venture briefly touched the helmet.

"This brings back memories."

"Hm? You don't have your old equipment anymore?"

"No, I sold it a while ago."

"Damm, that armor must be worth a ton since you once wore it."

"It is, and this will be my next one."

The merchant laugh.

"If that's the case, go make my father's work of art famous. I'll even give you a discount of 20 gold pieces."

And of course, Vesture took that offer. But in reality, that piece of art would not become famous. This full plate armor would surely be destroyed in combat with the Black Scripture.

"I'm in a rush, can you help me equip it?"

"Right now?"

There was a moment of silence, but the merchant understood it immediately and grabbed his tools.

"You got yourself in deep trouble, haven't you?"

"I did."

There was no point in lying. There was a significant chance of him dying in this fight. He might as well get a messenger in case of his defeat.

"If my friends ask me where I went, tell them I had to go to the Slane Theocracy."

"That place?"

"Yes,"

"Well, I will do that, but don't blame me if they misunderstand."

The Slane Theocracy is the most powerful and "safest" human nation around. For Vesture, saying he is in a hurry to go there in full plate armor would undoubtedly be questionable.

But his friends would know why it is not. Anyone inside the Black Scripture would have that mindset. The Slane Theocracy has many kept secret even the top officers do not know.

Thus, Vesture quietly thanked the blacksmith when he was geared up and headed out of the store.

Aqua was waiting outside the building. He still had to worry about the child.

"I have all the potions you need, but I think the seller ripped me off."

"That's fine, do you have the change?"

"No…"

"Ah, I suppose they are a little more costly around this season."

The child's looked slightly guilty.

"Don't worry, I'll get Nemel back."

Now that he got everything he needed, he must get the child to a safe spot.

Of course, if he had more time, he would instead get better equipment, but that was not the case.

He still had to consider that the child couldn't be here by herself. Therefore, he should leave the kid at an inn.

"Here is some money to stay at a nice inn. I'll show you where it is."

"No, that will take too long time, go save Nemel and Alaric."

"Hm, you are right, If I don't come back by tomorrow or by nightfall, then use the extra money to hire a guide to go back to the school."

The child nodded, and Vesture went ahead.

And there he quickly grabbed his horse, and made it to the cave.

 **Part 4**

The tiring state of the horse was now apparent, it ran as fast as possible towards the destination.

The cave was in a location where many trees were present. With the sun was already dying down, it was already dark where Vesture was. Yet, the sparks of light flooding inside the cave told a different story.

So was the echoing clash of magic and fire.

Because Vesture was of a different race, his hearing was much more pronounced than most.

That was why he was able to hear about Nabe's ability to control shadow demons when he was in a different room.

So was the reason he knew the battle of magic was happening. Since Jet was lasting this long, there shouldn't be too many of them inside.

Either that, they were simply toying with him.

He shouldn't be able to survive much longer if both of the situations were true.

It would be best to prepare.

" _How long was it again."_

It's been a while since he left the organization. Most of the people he knew back then likely retired. Yet the rules were probably the same.

And their mission statement was also still consistent, from what he heard.

That included their fighting style.

For example, if one member were to go rogue, the scripture responsible for that person would often be the one to kill or capture that person.

Of course, since they were all connected to the Slane Theocracy, the scriptures helped each other out if needed.

Vesture had to be careful if that was the latter.

And there, he went off the horse and tied it to a nearby tree. It was too tired to be useful in battle.

Well, even if it was at full strength, It would not affect the outcome of the fight by too much.

It was only a village-trained horse. It was in no condition to be brought in battle.

Therefore, Vesture headed inside the cave alone.

Not in a quiet matter, but in a way that enemies could hear him. On his way, he used up several enchantment potions.

There was no reason to sneak his way inside. What's important is to end this conflict with a selfless-sacrifice.

On the way, he used the martial art [Alert Field] to check his surrounds for traps and ambushes. And [Eyes in the Back] alerted his brain if something was coming from behind him.

It could have been the Black Scripture plan to lead him inside this cave. It would be less expensive to simply defeat himself, instead of his entire school.

But if that were the case, then that would be for the best. This wasn't his student's fight, nor was it Jets.

Thus, he ran faster.

He could hear the fight was nearing its end.

The rushing of their footsteps told him that.

Someone was running away.

It was likely Jet.

It had to be.

Echoing clash of chains followed their footsteps.

They were close.

Since it was dark, Vesture couldn't see them at first. He didn't have night vision equipment on, and he had to continue by using one of the potions the child brought.

After drinking it, Vesture moved forward, he was able to see in the dark.

He unsheathed his blade, a whip was coming in fast.

It was moving beyond the speed a normal human could react to.

The user definitely belonged to the Black Scripture.

At the end of the whip, it appeared that a beating heart was laying at the tip, Vesture couldn't tell what enchantments it contained.

When a member of the Black Scripture is deployed, it is the law that they must be equipped with one of the best items the country has to offer.

Sometimes they do not have to if they were only on a scouting mission.

But Vesture couldn't count on that fact.

He raised his sword.

It was well made, one of the most durable blades he has, but because of that, the cutting power was slighting below average.

There was no chance at destroying that whip. Its body was covered in metal.

So he simply parried it while making sure not to hit the tip.

If he was not careful in redirecting the weapon, the whip could end up tying him up regardless.

That is why he had to time it correctly and aim near the tip.

The whip bounded off his sword as if it crashed into a sturdy helmet. It was then redirected to the walls. Normally one would not expect too much to occur after a parry.

But the crashing of stone grew. A small explosion bloomed at the site where it landed.

It was made up of 3rd tier magic. Vesture could already figure out the mechanics of how that magical weapon worked.

Every time the whip's tip hits something, an explosion appears. But it seemed there was a time limit to make that explosion occur.

Vesture didn't figure that out merely looking at the weapon.

It was only that once, he used a similar weapon when he was in the Black Scripture. Weapons similar to the one he just parried were scarce in this world.

Based on how the Black Scripture ranks items, it was likely classed Legacy. Or to be more exact, The Slane Theocracy classifies items based on how the Six Great Gods powered scaled them.

It went by Low Class, Middle Class, High Class, Top Class, Legacy Class, Relic Class, Legendary Class, Divine Class, and World Items.

However, this way of describing items was only used by the Black Scripture since they were the only ones who used such equipment above Legacy. Other scriptures are allowed to use these items, but that was only in exceptional cases.

The use of the best gear was also only given to the best of the elites. Vesture was once a seated member. In fact, he rivaled the former 3rd ranking member. But even he had never seen an item above the class Legendary.

Instead, he had only been given items below that tier.

It was probably to the fact items above Legendary were very rare. So much so that the highest-ranking officers kept information about them a secret.

That was an understatement. Even the equipment given to them is still considered classified. Yes, the Black Scripture does provide them with the equipment, but no one besides the top officers knows what they really are and why they are so strong.

That proved the fact the Black Scripture was here.

If Vesture had to rank his equipment, at best, they would be considered Top class. While it was possible to still win a fight despite the equipment difference, it would be very hard.

Especially since if there were two of them.

Through the shadows, there were two men. One would not be able to see them unless they were using night vision.

Both of them had a very tall body filled with raging muscles that ran upon their structure.

If Vesture had to guess, they would be over 7 feet tall, which towered over his short height by an enormous amount.

He felt slightly relieved. While they were looking very intimidating, at least they were not wearing Relic class items.

Plus, he knew one of them.

While they were not friends back then, Vesture should still thank Cedran for all the times he helped him when he was still in the system.

Yet, it looked like he was growing old now.

Because of that, it was apparent that the other members had grown old.

New members were likely selected. Vesture did not know the man behind him.

"Hey, Cedran, it's good to meet you again."

A tall old man rose from the shadows.

"I should say the thing. However, we are not here to chat."

"I see,"

What followed Cedran was a man who wielded that whip. He looked rather young despite having a full-grown beard.

"So Vesture, are we just going to leave Jet alone then? You know what will happen if he reports this news."

"Don't worry, I will take care of it. Now, I suppose you didn't simply come here to visit me."

"That's right."

Vesture hands were now on his sword.

"Don't worry Vesture, If you do as we say, then no fighting will occur."

"Why did you guys come here then?"

"It is because it is starting soon."

Again, the silence appeared once more. Vesture had left the organization dozens of years ago, but knew precisely what Cedran was referring to.

"While you guys did not tell me an exact date. I expected it was coming soon because of all the strange events that have been happening lately. "

That were the events of Gazef's assassination, the appearance of powerful vampires, and the adventurer group Darkness.

"It's strange how all of her predictions are coming true."

"That's right. The next arrival of the players are here."

Vesture murmured. The race, players, is a very sensitive term spoken in the Slane Theocracy.

To be more exact, this term was only spoken between the Black Scripture and to the top officers in the Slane Theocracy. This was for the fact that the Black scripture is the most powerful military formation in the country. It was only natural the greatest secrets would be hidden between them.

But even Vesture did not have a grasp of what the race "players" were from. The country had kept that secret even to him and had only given him information on the due date.

Yes, they appeared every 200 years, and they were said to have the strength to conquer countries.

No, they had the strength to conquer the entire world for that matter.

For the due date being near, this was probably the reason why the Black Scripture came here. It was to recruit Vesture and many other of the strongest beings on this planet.

However, the recent events somewhat contradict that statement.

"I have questions, what was the purpose of attempting to kill Gazef?"

Killing Gazef only serves opposite to their statement.

"Not only that, why massacre all of those villagers?"

"You should know why Vesture."

His eyes looked downwards. From what Vesture knew of on the attempt of Gazef's assassination, only the Sun Scripture was involved. And in the event, that scripture killed multiple villagers to lure in Gazef and kill him.

Usually, the Slane Theocracy wouldn't authorize meaningless slaughter, even for an assassination mission. On top of that, killing high authorize figures like Gazef often required at least another scripture to help them, such as the Windflower, but that was not the case. Only one scripture was involved in Gazef's assassination.

That was, of course, foolish.

Hence, there may have been another reason for Gazef's assassination. That was likely to use those villagers.

Vesture nudged.

"That was cruel. To capture the villagers and for them to die in the end by the use of Blood Bane."

"It's only natural, we are running out of time."

"Then, the use of the old method was used?"

What they were referring to was Blood Bane.

An ability to increase one's ability far beyond what humanity is capable of.

This was one of the sole reasons the Slane Theocracy had been able to continue on for so long in a world filled with players and demon gods.

Yet, this ability is kept a secret between the Black Scripture and the highest authority in the Slane Theocracy. It was simply done to avoid political conflicts.

Even the other scriptures, the next highest military formation, were not told of this information. This is due to the fact that if their true power were to be shared, the upcoming arrival of players could instantly target the Slane Theocracy as they would be one of the only threats that would be able to stop them.

That was the reason why the Black Scripture had their members lie about their strength. For example, they were asked if they could destroy an army of Death Knights, they would say it would be impossible. But in reality, the Black Scripture could do such a feat.

Yes, Blood Bane was an ability that improves one's ability by that much.

If one used it, that person would be able to grasp the strength of a battle rating of around 150 for some time. However, even with that power level, one would still be easily defeated by a player.

Vesture had been in combat with many of those types of monsters and knew that was a fact. In a one vs. one situation, at best, a seated member would only do a small amount of damage towards a player. Therefore, one might question why gather the most talented heroes in the world if they were still ants compared to the gods of this world.

And to answer that question, it was because it is still possible to win against them with the use of the combination of Blood Bane, World Items, and powerful talents.

Vesture didn't entirely understand how Blood Bane worked. He only knew that for someone to get this ability, they had to inject the blood of the gods or Godkins inside of them.

And there are three methods of doing this.

The easiest way is to be born having that ability. That is the unique skill Godkins are born with, but many of them are weak. This was because to use their abilities, they must awaken their hidden potential.

And that was very hard to do. From what Vesture remembered, there were only two people alive who had done that in the last 200 years.

One was a small boy. He was likely around the age of a young adult now. However, he only half-awaken his abilities.

Because of that, he had not reached his full potential but still had a base form stronger than a monster with a battle rating of 150. And with the combination of Blood Bane, he can briefly tap into his fullest potential and rival True Dragon Lords.

And the second person Vesture knew who awaken was kept a secret even to him, yet he had heard rumors of her.

She is the only person in recent history who had been able to fully unlock their innate ability.

That was why the Slane Theocracy could not merely rely upon the chance of genes. The percent of a Godkins to awaken was very rare.

For this reason, other ways to obtain this skill arose.

The most common way to get the ability involved injecting the blood of the gods into a person. But often that blood ends up kills a person, even if they are strong.

That was why another way to obtain this ability was created.

The third way of obtaining this ability was by slowly giving a person bits of the god's blood. In fact, this method can be done even without physically touching the person, for example, by the use of air travel.

That was how Vesture was given this ability.

It also had a 0% fatality rate. However, the downside is that one would not see changes in their strength for a very long time.

And it was not even a guarantee that trainee was becoming stronger.

To clarify, it meant that a person would not notice if the blood was mixing into themselves until years later.

Because of that condition, the second method was usually used. It would create faster results.

However, only 1 out of 100 people whose strength rested upon Mithril would usually be able to survive the injection. If you were stronger, then the chances would quadruple. However, if you are weaker than a Mithril adventurer, then your chances would greatly decrease.

If you do that math, that was a meager chance of survival. There are only around 300 adventurers whose strength rests above Platinum in the Re-Estize Kingdom.

So, one could say it would take the combined population of one country to produce two users of Blood Bane in the span of 10 years.

And even if you survive, unless you were a Godkin, there are several conditions you must meet before you can use and activate Blood Bane.

The most important thing was wild magic. You must wear something that is enchanted with wild magic.

Otherwise, you would not be able to access this power.

That was why items enchanted with Wild magic were extremely rare and were often not given away. There were a few exemptions to this case, such as when Rigrit gave that ring to Gazef.

So, hypothetically Gazef could activate Blood Bane on his own.

Yet, Vesture didn't teach Gazef how to activate it.

This was because it was a rule not to tell anyone. Even if Vesture tried to share the secret, he'd be killed instantly. This was because once a person joins the Black Scripture, they forced to be bonded to a magic spell to never tell this information to others.

Well, even if Vesture was not bonded by that spell. He probably won't even be able to teach Gazef in the first place. Finding the blood of players was very rare. The other reason was because Vesture did not understand the topic to a great extent.

Such as the reason why someone must use gear enchanted with wild magic to use Blood Bane. From what he heard, it was simply a rule that has been founded in the Black Scripture since the beginning.

Those who used it did not question the mechanism similar to how magic could create thunderstorms.

Hence, time evidently past and only three conditions were founded and needed to use it.

Wearing items enchanted by Wild Magic was the most important condition. Unless a seated member went rogue, every member is forced to be equipped with that enchantment.

Without it, they cannot active Blood Bane and could be easily killed, such as Clementine. Despite everyone in the special ops having a base form in the realm of heroes, the seated members can be very vulnerable without their best equipment.

And the other two conditions involved the user themselves. A person must be physically and mentally stable when using it. While it was still possible to access the ability, it would be less effective to a very great amount.

So much so, one might not see a difference in strength if they are not in the correct mindset.

That is why every seated member is highly valued.

Everyone chosen to be in the Black scripture were those who survived the injection and were trusted to keep the ability a secret.

Similar to how the Baharuth Empire chooses their best warriors. The Slane Theocracy does have strict beliefs in religion, but when it comes down to picking their best warriors. They do not care about the race or the background where one came from.

Only the thing that matters is if they can survive and could be trusted.

"Then I suppose there is going to be a mass injection?"

"That is right, even if they are weak, they still have a chance to survive."

"May I know the name whose going to be responsible for this?"

"You should already know, Mr. Smith is carrying out this operation."

"So those villagers and now this. You don't mean he is going to use the experiment again on another settlement?

That question drove beyond authorization. Yet Cedran still answered,

"Yes."

A slight discomfort rose in Vesture's eyes.

"Why are you telling me all of this."

"It's only because you are going to know this sooner or later."

Vesture then raised his sword.

"You should know that I am against this idea."

The two others, then rose their weapons. Despite the cave being dark, the touches that surrounded the cave reflected light off their faces.

"Vesture, it is meaningless to fight. The operation is already underway, and we have bigger things to worry about."

His eyes soften.

Vesture nudged to himself, then smiled.

"I know."

"Without the Black Scripture equipment, there will be a huge power gap between us."

"Yes, I know."

Cedran already noticed Vesture wasn't wearing any equipment enchanted with Wild Magic.

Yet his eyes did not fall.

"What are you thinking? Since we were not here to kill you, have you gotten overconfident?"

"No, I simply want to full-fill my duties as retired Adamantite adventurer. That is all."

"If you decide to fight us, you will undoubtedly lose. There will be unnecessary pain."

"I understand."

Cedran stared at Vesture, then nodded to the man beside him.

"Hm, very well. You have always been stubborn."

Cedran then placed down his shields, and on his back, he grabbed another one. It was different.

An average person would think it would be less useful in a fight. However, that was entirely false. The duel shields he wielded were powerful in defense, but not in attack power.

The small round shield Cedran was using now provided less defense, but provided the ability to be deadly in close combat.

Usually, this would be a bad idea to use this style of fighting. However, Cedran was well-trained in this "martial art."

"Before we get started, The man behind me is Beaumarchais. He's one of the younger members. And since you cannot use Blood Bane at the moment, we won't use it unless the situation calls for it."

Beaumarchais stood up

"Eh? Why aren't we going to use it?"

"Give me a break Beaumarchais, if we use Blood Bane, that will ruin our warrior's pride,"

Beaumarchais signed, so that was his name. It was true, if they go all out, Vesture would most likely lose the fight in a few moments. Yet, because of Cedran's warrior pride, both of them would not use it.

This might be because of the rivalry that once existed between Vesture and Cedran. While they were not enemies, they were from the same training class when they first joined the Black Scripture.

While it was meaningless to frown upon the past. Vesture and Cedran were now the last two members alive from that training group. It is only fitting that they fought to see who is the strongest after all these years.

Of course, Vesture is stronger Cedran. He was once considered a rival to the 3rd seat after all. That was why Beaumarchais was standing next to Cedran. And it seemed they were whispering something to each other.

This was a duel, but not a formal one. There would be no start or finish signal.

It was only honor that they were not attacking each other. But that act was now done. Vesture should take this moment to plan and strike.

[Capacity building, Ability Boost]

An ability to increase his body's overall power level.

[Body strengthening, Physical Boost]

The next two martial arts helped in a body's natural defenses. While he was wearing full plate Mithril armor, the weapons they were using could easily break through it.

In response to Vesture's preparation, the two others cast their martial arts as well. The fight was starting.

It'll be wise for him to take out Beaumarchais first.

This is because Cedran had a talent that all warriors feared. While Vesture did not know what Beaumarchais's talent was, Cedran would surely be a big problem to deal with regardless.

This was because Cedran had the talent to absorb any physical and magical attacks.

A perfect talent for one who serves as a tank.

No, he did not absorb the attack itself. If Vesture hits Cedran, he would still get hurt.

Simply, once a person attacks Cedran, he can absorb and store all the damage that was done to him and redirect that damage towards a target.

That was why Cedran was still not retired. And besides his special talent, his skill and experience are still highly valued as a tank.

But there was a problem with his talent.

If there is an attack too powerful for him to handle, such as 10th tier magic, he could get instantly killed before he could have a chance to absorb and redirect that energy.

That was how Vesture was planning to defeat Cedran.

He could not use 10th tier magic, but another way to prevent him from using his talent was to simply disable his arms. For Cedran to active his talent, he needs the use of both of his hands.

Thus, it would be wise to first finish off Beaumarchais. There was no chance Vesture could defeat Cedran in a single hit with another man to worry about.

Plus, if Vesture tries to slowly take down Cedran. He would simply absorb his blows and sooner or later redirect a powerful attack towards him. That is why it would be meaningless to attack him.

He would only be giving Cedran more power.

Hence, he prepared a stance and aim his sword.

They were 10 meters apart.

But Vesture covered that distance in a blink of an eye. He was not faster than Clementine. Yet his overall base stats were considered hero class. Combined with his martial arts, his swords should be able to reach Beaumarchais or at least touch him with the inhuman speed he was displaying.

Yet, that was false, Cedran was specialized in defense, his speed would surely be lower than his. But Beaumarchais was specialized in assassination. He was faster than him.

Using the previous martial arts he activated, he sensed Beaumarchais was already behind him. In this case, Vesture would have to parry his attack, but Cedran was in front of him. He would be attacked on both fronts.

" _Tck,"_

They already knew that he was first planning to take out Beaumarchais.

It would be best to retreat to a better position. He ran several meters away from both of them. But he still had to worry about long-range attacks.

The crack of a whip grew. Vesture barely dodged that blow. Usually, he would be able to counter the enemy as the whip would be now moving in a different direction.

Yet, it was not, the whip was redirected towards him.

Blow after blow, the onslaught of attacks would not stop. Every time Vesture redirected the tip of the weapon, no matter what, it would not change direction.

There would be a sudden moment of rest between the strikes, but nothing worth wasting energy for. If this keeps out, both of them will become tired.

No, only he would become tired.

While Beaumarchais was doing all of this work, it was because of the skilled use of every finger. Vesture, on the other hand, was using every muscle in his arms to counter each strike.

The tradeoff was in favor of Beaumarchais.

But the trading blows could be stopped if a sudden use of great power was present. Vesture had many martial arts that could produce this result. The most famous of these attacks was the [Sixfold Slash of Light].

However, Vesture's body was already under stress from several passive abilities. Adding [Sixfold Slash of Light], a move that cost as much pressure as 3 martial arts would surely make him tired.

But he still used it.

A slight discomfort appeared in his muscles, but six red lights appeared in the air. Similar to how a sword produces an air slice, the [Sixfold Slash of Light] has identical results.

However, the difference was that the six strikes had equal power to the original blade. And it quickly overpowered the strength Beaumarchais had been outputting.

He was open, the whip was forcefully moved to the walls, and the tip exploded. This was his chance. There would be a cooldown before the weapon would be able to produce more bursts of explosions.

But Cedran had appeared.

Despite him specializing in defense, his pure hand to hand combat skills were mighty. In fact, you could say they rivaled Zero.

While his skills were not as excellent as a pure monk. It would still be hard to counter his attacks. Especially since he was using a shield.

It would be deadly if Vesture were to get hit by it.

This was due to the powerful blunt force it held. And even if you don't include that, the edge of the round shield would produce a more deadly result than most people would think.

One full-powered rush could break through his armor.

And on top of that, Beaumarchais was coming in close again. All of his sides were covered, there was nowhere to escape but to jump.

He flew high into the air. As a rabbit man, their movement speed was generally better compared to humans.

"Eh?"

But, Cedran was in the air. The deeper part of the cave had a roof height of 4 meters. For Cedran, a man wearing more armor than one could imagine, to be jumping and moving this swiftly said something about his strength.

From what Vesture remembered, he wasn't always this fast.

He was simply hoping that Beaumarchais would jump to counter him.

Since the chains' magical enchantments were still on cooldown, that would be a perfect way to defeat Beaumarchais.

But instead, Cedran jumped. And there he threw several punches. They were in close quarters, a disadvantage to Vesture, who was using a longsword. He was too slow to block and crashed into the floor.

The blow was not sufficient enough to hurt Vesture, but he could feel his armor being indented from Cedran's punches.

And Beaumarchais, the cooldown for his weapon seemed to be over. A whip appeared out of nowhere.

It would be over if he gets caught, but thankfully his reaction time was sufficient enough, but not his movement speed. The tip hit the ground, an explosion appeared. Vesture was caught in it and flew back several meters against the wall.

That enchantment spell was not made up of 3rd tier magic. Parts of his armor were starting to crack just from the sheer explosion of the whip.

And again, Beaumarchais attacked.

Vesture jumped from place to place to keep afloat. But every time he did, Cedran would come behind him and throw his round shield around.

It was in a way that could hurt the enemy and protect the user. It was indeed a hard attack pattern to beat.

Since Vesture did have access to the talent [Item box], he could possibly defeat this fighting style, but he could not adjust since Beaumarchais was here.

It was truly a one-sided battle.

But of course, the chance of victory was still present.

Cedran hit Vesture with his shield, yet it was reflected because of his armor's strong angles

Mithril is still a strong metal, and with that attack, he was wide open.

But Vesture retreated a few meters. He could not forget about Cedran's talent. Yes, there was a small chance to cut off Cedran's arm to point where it'll be unusable.

However, he still had to consider if he had high tier healing items on him.

"Hm, Vesture, have you gotten rusty all these years?"

Cedran was questioning him.

"You are not the same. Back then, you used to be so aggressive in your fighting style."

"It's only because you guys are so strong, I can't be as aggressive."

He listened but still continued.

"Not only that. You became more passive over the years."

A deep blow appeared from the shadows. Cedran threw his shield, Vesture dodged, and Beaumarchais placed a blow with his whip.

Before it landed, Vesture used {Fortress}.

A skill that softens a physical attack.

While he could use [invulnerable Fort], it would cost his body much stress.

If Beaumarchais's weapon were not on cooldown, Vesture would imminently resort to using it, but that was not the case. Thus, he decided to use the latter.

But it was still a devastating blow.

The kinetic energy broke through his martial art, but Vesture was still on his feet. It was just enough.

But Cedran came rushing forward with his round shield in front.

Full-on contact.

He took the entire hit.

Armor cracked, the wind passed by, and the stone walls made way for Vesture.

There was nothing he could do to soften the hit.

The reinforced metal on his swords disappeared into the air. And the view of a beating heart appeared in the sky.

It was the whip. It was not on cooldown.

Once Beaumarchais uses the weapon to tie up Vesture, the tip would slowly circle inward to the center where Vesture would be.

And then an explosion would bloom into action, and once it disappeared, the whip would go inward again, and the cycle of explosives would continue until its cooldown is finally met.

This was probably Beaumarchais's prized combo.

If Vesture counted rightly, 6 explosives would be landed on him. It would be best to move away.

But warriors couldn't move mid-air unless they had the spell flight.

And that was not the case. This was the end.

Well, If this were Vesture 30 years ago, he would have been defeated at this moment.

[Shukuchi Kai]

A martial art he learned while traveling to the Baharuth Empire. He learned it from a man saying he was stronger than Brain, but that information irrelevant right now.

What matters is that skill's ability.

That martial art enables one to able in any direction without the use of arms or legs. It was an instantaneous movement.

As a result, he was able to dodge the tip, but not the wall.

Instantly, his muscles were shaken from the impact. Thankfully, his armor took most of the force. However, there was no guarantee it will survive another hit.

The whip appeared again. This was the moment.

He needs to take advantage of it. The weakness.

Using his talent [Item Box], Vesture instantly summoned a knife and threw it flawlessly at the tip of the whip.

Thus, the flames bloomed. The whip recoiled.

Vesture was launched straight forward from the blast of flames and grabbed onto the whip's chains.

"Hm."

It was covered in poison, most likely to harm anyone who tried grabbing it.

If Vesture weren't wearing full plate armor, his hands would have been cut into pieces.

And when Beaumarchais saw his weapon had been grabbed onto, he froze.

Just as planned.

Did he realize he just made a big mistake? He was more experienced than Vesture thought. Now that he had the weapon, he just needed to keep a hold on it for a few seconds.

It was successful, the chains disappeared. Vesture just used his talent [Item Box]. It could also be used in combat as well. The reason he could not use his talent before was because it takes a few seconds for the item he wants to go into his "inventory."

With that time limit to meet, Vesture couldn't merely spam and steal everything that an enemy has. But with this, now it was possible.

Beaumarchais frozen, Vesture had to restated that previous statement.

He probably did not have much combat experience.

The fact an enemy grabbed onto his prize weapon surprised him, and that will be his end.

{Sixfold Slash of Light]

Red lights arose from his sword and sheared neatly through Beaumarchais's muscles and bones. He was finished, his arms and legs were unusable at this moment.

He wouldn't be able to use high tier healing items since he was disabled.

But it would be a waste to kill one of the Black Scripture members. That was not Vesture's goal. It was only to change their course of action.

"Come on, Cedran!"

Beaumarchais screamed with a hint of anger. "Enough with warrior's pride, just use Blood Bane and capture this guy,"

"Beaumarchais, if you didn't freeze up, you wouldn't have ended up with all those injuries."

"Shut up,"

Vesture smirked, not in an aggressive, but in a way that he was showing sympathy in Cedran's actions.

"Hmm, Cedran, are you acting as a trainer too in the Black Scripture?"

"Yes, since I'm turning old, I thought I might do something else."

"Hehe, I understand, It's hard to train young adults into the best person they could become."

After training many strong warriors, he certainly understood the problem a lot of teachers faced. While many of them, such as Gazef, are very much of a nobleman today, back then, they were not as friendly as everyone knew of them.

Yet, there was a reason why most teachers become teachers.

"Is that's why you left the Black Scripture? Because of Lubina and that man?"

Cedran asked that question. Usually, Vesture would hesitate to talk about this topic, but he responded with a nod.

"You are stubborn as always, is that way you cannot join us again?"

"Yes,"

"If you win this fight, are you going to fight Mr. Smith and his armies to stop the mass production of elite warriors?"

"I told you already."

"I wanted to make sure we're on equal terms. You know I can not allow you to interfere."

Cedran walked over where he left his other weapons.

"Obliviously since Beaumarchais is down now. I cannot beat you in a fair fight Vesture, so this will be the end."

He then grabbed onto the duel shields once more.

"Don't worry, If I beat you, we will be taking you back to the Black Scripture. Your students will be unharmed."

"Understood, I also agree it is time to end this."

Blood Bane, Cedran, was going to use Blood Bane. To power scale it, if Cedran used it, his strength would only be 2nd to the demon gods that ran throughout the world 200 years ago.

There would be no chance Vesture would be able to win after Cedran actives that form, this was the end.

In other words, he would be defeated.

But he still raised his sword.

As Cedran was activating Blood Bane, Vesture activated his own martial arts.

[Possibility sense]

It was a skill that can tell the user the chances of victory in battle. And when every millisecond passed, Vesture saw the possibility of winning growing smaller and smaller.

In the end, there was only a dims light of victory.

Back then, he did train in several situations where he had to fight opponents with a monstrous strength advantage. And every time they fought, Vesture and everyone else would lose.

Unless the person using Blood Bane was wearing basic gear or did not meet every condition, every time, the results were visible.

The outcome of this fight should be obvious as well.

There was a slim shade of red in Cedran's eyes. The blood of the gods was flowing in his veins.

The first move was made.

Vesture couldn't move away.

That was not an exaggeration.

The pressure inside the cave grew tight, and the air pressure grew dim. Cedran was not specialized in speed, but he was moving far faster than Vesture.

In fact, Vesture's legs could not even react to his movements. It was only his eyes that could still respond to everything that was happening.

Yet, his body was too weak to react.

The only way to dodge the attack was to use that martial art.

[Shukuchi Kai]

There was a ringing clash of metal, Vesture dodged in time, but he was partially caught.

Only his sword touched the bashing of shields.

That was dangerous. It would be wise not to get hit.

Yet, before he could regain footing, Cedran was already heading in his direction again.

There was no time to dodge.

[Impenetrable Fortress]

Vesture braced his arms and legs for an intense impact. As one of the highest forms of defense one could learn, he would usually be able to defend against any type of attack with no problem.

Yet, as he stood, a gust of wind blew onto him. He was losing balance, and his arms were losing strength in them.

As the force of impact grew onto him, he was nearly blown away from the attack.

However, he was only knocked back several meters.

Vesture was lucky he did not receive any major injuries.

Now that was an understatement.

Yes, while he did not lose a limb or break a bone. His arms were lacking in protection now.

The appearance of blue metal covering his hands was no longer present.

It must have been cracked and blown to pieces from the impact of the blow. Everything that was on arms were now destroyed, including his illusionist bracelet.

Vesture grind, he used the highest defense skill he knew. However, Cedran caused that much damage. The Mithril plate armor was broken through like butter.

He was serious.

Vesture would instantly be knocked out in three, no possibility in a single direct hit.

Even if he used [Impenetrable Fortress] again, that defense skill would likely not save him.

Perhaps it might keep him alive, but that was not good enough to win.

There was only one technique that might be able to grant victory to Vesture.

Yes, Cedran's defensive stats were already far superior to Vesture. Adding Blood Bane would only lengthen that gap.

But if Vesture plays his cards right, he might be able to bypass that defense with his trump card.

And it was not the [Sixfold Slash of Light] nor his [Item Box].

Cedran's shields and armor were too big in size. It would take too long for Vesture to transport those into his inventory.

And [Sixfold Slash of Light], was not powerful enough. It is strong when all of the six strikes hit. Many people confuse this martial skill to be Vesture's strongest attack because of that. But even with that skill, it is not enough.

Instead, Vesture trump card was a skill that only he and one other person were able to master.

Yes, that name is Gazef. Only he and Vesture had been able to master this technique.

But it was not guaranteed that he would have a chance to pull out that skill.

Cedran was moving too fast for Vesture.

However, there was an idea.

About 30 meters from his location, there was a trap mechanism that could blow up the rooftop of the cave.

If he can get there, he might have a chance.

No, this was his only chance at victory.

Cedran, at his current level, would be able to easily break through that wall of boulders.

However, it would give him enough time to prepare for the technique.

The only problem was that Cedran would not allow him to reach there.

Yet, Vesture still had to gamble on that chance.

Thus, he placed all his strength towards his legs and ran.

A few meters into running, he was hit.

His legs.

Cedran aimed for his legs. Vesture's leg plating immediately bust on impact, and pain grew intensely.

It was then, he was sent several dozens of meters into the air.

Yet he still had conscious and was heading towards the location where that trap was.

It was at this moment, he summoned a throwing knife and hit the explosive mechanism.

It landed, the rocks fell behind him, and he landed safely to the ground.

Unexpectedly, he was not hit too hard, he did not feel too much pain in his upper body.

However, his legs.

They were broken.

Quickly, Vesture gobbled up the highest healing potion he had.

Yet only after drinking it, he could only stand and not run.

" _Did the child get the wrong stuff?"_

The potions he drank felt as if it was only made of 2nd tier healing magic.

Granted, the magic stores around here did not offer that many good potions.

" _Could be that 2nd tier healing potions were the best they had?"_

That was likely the case and Vesture grind.

" _So, that's why the child looked guilty."_

Vesture couldn't dwell on that topic for too long, Cedran would be coming soon.

Hence, he made his preparation.

His legs were not in good enough condition to run fast. Therefore, he will use the martial art [Shukuchi Kai] to make up for that.

And for the preparations, he had to activate a list of martial arts.

As Vesture mentioned before. Each and every black scripture member had a unique talent.

In fact, the top five members of the Black Scripture always had talents that can be considered top 10 in the world.

Vesture's talent did not fit that category. Instead, the reason why his strength rivaled the 3rd seat was for the fact he had a second talent.

People who had two talents were extremely rare. Thus, many people do not consider Vesture has two, but instead a unique ability.

The skill to use twice as much martial arts for one's level.

Typically, someone on Vesture's level would only be able to use 8 martial arts at once.

That was because martial arts required the use of tense mental focus. But because of his innate ability, he can use up to 16 and so onward.

However, many martial arts that involve the use of the blades did not exist in books.

That's was why Vesture created this technique.

The breaking of boulders appeared, he had to hurry.

After chanting all of his previous said buffs, Vesture stored his primary sword and summoned another sword from his unarmed hand.

It was made out of Adamantite and Orichalcum. The reason why Vesture was quite poor was that he spent most of his funds on these blades.

He had 23 of them. They were made to have an extremely sharp edge.

The downside of having a sharp edge is that a sword starts to become thinner. Thus, its durability rapidly decreases.

In other words, a copper sword could be as sharp as the world's strongest blade. However, since copper is weak, the edge would break from the slightest touch.

Hence, Vesture's Adamantite blades were made to be sharp to that extent. The point after 5 uses they would be destroyed.

Yes, the strongest metal that humanity knows of to be destroyed in a few hits. That alone speaks to how sharp and fragile these blades were.

That was why Vesture did not use them at the start of the fight.

First off, it would have been pointless to use them on Beaumarchais, as a normal blade would be able to hurt him.

Secondly, if both of them saw him use his trump card, both of them would have immediately resort to using Blood Bane.

That was why getting Beaumarchais out of the way was essential.

Having to face two monsters with a battle rating of 150 was death itself.

Thereby, the point of having these swords was to produce the most potent attack all at once.

Once the sword breaks, Vesture would instantly summon another one.

And there was a 100% chance the swords will break. This was because he will be using a martial art Orlando Campano created.

While he is still a student in his school, Orlando developed a martial art that involved breaking one's weapon to increase its power output several times.

As a result of that skill, this was the perfect martial art for these blades.

If they were to be broken, they might as well be.

Thus, Vesture raised his sword.

Cedran burst out of the wall of boulders.

Yet he was stuck. This was perfectly going into the plan.

Using Beaumarchais's whip, Vesture swung and tied up one of Cedran's freed arms from moving. Despite the strength differences, the whip was still Lecady class. It would take some time for Cedran to break off of it.

One might have to worry about its ability to explode. However, Vesture cut off the tip of the whip's end beforehand.

And once the whip was placed tightly on Cedran's arms, Vesture used threw one of his normal swords to secure the endpoint. He then stabbed the handle of the whip to the ground.

Both of Cedran's arms now unusable. One was stuck in the boulders, and the other was tied up by the whip.

Now Vesture only had to get through his full plate armor instead of his monstrous shields.

Consequently, that meant he could win. Before, that was not possible because there was no way Vesture could have broken through those shields.

Therefore, using [Shukuchi Kai], Vesture summoned two swords and launched the attack.

The previous preparation was not the trump card he had taught Gazef.

In truth, the ultimate technique was simple, yet very hard to imitate.

That was [Eightfold Slash of Light].

However, instead of a barrage of eight slices appearing. Vesture developed a way for one to continually use [Eightfold Slash of Light] after the initial swing.

In other words, after Vesture swings his sword with the use of [Eightfold Slash of Light], he can swing again using [Eightfold Slash of Light] and onward.

This is possible by instantly using the martial art [Instant Counter].

It is an ability that corrects the balance of the user, allowing them to attack continuously. Now, [Instant Counter] is not a hard skill to master. It simply almost impossible to active it right away after using [Eightfold Slash of Light].

This is because, usually, after the first use of [Eightfold Slash of Light], the user would feel off-balance and would not be able to relaunch any other martial art.

But with this, it was now possible.

Now the difference between Gazef's trump card is that he only uses a single weapon.

In Vesture's case, since he could use twice as much martial arts as his student could. He can do this feat with two swords.

In other words, after one strike of his dual swords, an equivalent of 16 hits would be placed on Cedran.

And that was not including the fact Vesture had another ability.

With the combination of Orlando's martial art. After his swords strike, they would turn to dust in exchange for the strikes being several times more deadly.

But that was no problem as Vesture could simply summon another sword and attack.

Yet it was not enough.

As Vesture continually swung with all his might, Cedran's armor and skin were still intact. This was the weakness of his trump card.

The stroke of Gazef's master was enough to cleave any Mithril adventurer into sixteen pieces.

Yet, [Eightfold Slash of Light] is an attack that was not accurate. Vesture had mastered the skill to the point where it would be more precise.

But it was not enough.

Cedran kicked Vesture's stomach. One of his legs broke free.

His breastplate armor instantly splattered. The energy had nowhere to go. Thus, the sound of his ribs breaking grew.

Yet he continued.

He had to go faster.

Simultaneously creating and breaking swords. Vesture continued to dispatch his swords.

Dozens of red lights could be seen from where the battle was taking place. So much so, if this was a talent show, people would be cheering for the light show that was being displayed.

But there was no time for that. The attacks Vesture did were inaccurate to the point the cave and its surrounds were being destroyed.

Walls were coming down, the rooftop was falling.

The surrounding trees were being chopped in half.

Yet, he continued.

His arms and legs started to become shaky. The side effects of using these many martial arts were starting to appear.

The reason why Vesture and Gazef do not often use this technique was because they would faint after using these many skills continually.

Thereby, it was normally used as a last resort.

The battle would usually end right then and there, but for this situation, it did not.

The voice of fatigued began to fill his ears. Vesture desperately wanted to take a break, but if he did, Cedran would use his talent to defeat him.

Yet, it seemed he would not have to worry about that.

One of Cedran hands broke free and grabbed hold on one of Vesture's arms.

It was then twisted and shattered.

Vesture nearly coughed in pain.

Was this it?

The combination of all these martial arts meaningless?

No, it was not. Vesture lunged forward.

This was his last blade. The final attack. In the event, he must use all his energy.

[limit breaker].

The number of martial arts he could use increased. Thus the onslaught of swords continued.

[brief seal, grand power strike].

A skill he heard and learned from one of Buser's kids. That king, Buser, was a demi-human who specialized in weapon and armor destruction.

As a result, that increased the power output of the swords even more.

And for the next martial arts.

[Cutting Edge, Fatal Edge, Full Throttle].

And lastly, [Eightfold Slash of Light].

The armor was broken through.

A total of more than 150 strikes were placed on Cedran, and only with Vesture's final blade was he able to break through.

The giant fell, Vesture had to make sure he was down.

Thus, he summoned several daggers to cut through his muscle tendons.

And there, he went on his knees.

The cave was destroyed.

The fight was over.

The use of these many martial arts caused much stress in Vesture's mind.

He could hardly stand and drunk up several stamina potions.

Not that he needed to drink them to get their effects, it was only that he thirsty as well.

And once his eyes regain sight, his helmet was left on the ground. The night sky was present.

The moon shined light between the two of them.

It was late.

* * *

Cedran was still laying on the ground, his arms and legs were brutality cut, and his body was slowly losing blood.

If his muscles were still functional, he might have been able to move around and activate his healing enchantments that were on his armor.

Well, his armor. He probably couldn't activate them because it was destroyed. Cedran was injured to the point where he could not even move his neck.

Yes, Vesture's trump card. Cedran had heard that Vesture developed a martial art that surpassed the [Sixfold Slash of Light].

But for the attack to be this powerful, it was ridiculous.

Cedran's armor had a defense level around the class Relic. Not only that, his stats far surpassed Vesture when using Blood bane.

For those martial arts to close the gap between the level difference only spoke how dangerous they were. Yes, Cedran had activated several martial arts himself, but they mainly enchanted the defensive value of his shields.

If his arms didn't get stuck, he could have defended against that attack with minor trouble. Yet, he did not, he was defeated.

Anyone with a high level could be defeated if they simply stood there while their enemy constantly attacked them. Yet the armor he was wearing should have lasted to the point he could regain use of his arms.

But they did not. That only spoke how powerful Vesture's martial arts were.

Cedran is a warrior, himself. He should have already known how much power martial arts could give someone. The fact he was defeated by underestimating Vesture only spoke of his carelessness. Yes, while he did have strength rivaling demon gods the 13th heroes once faced. They were also defeated by heroes on a similar level as Vesture due to their carelessness.

Cedran should have known this fact, but he did not care for it. Thereby, after Vesture kills him and when the Black Scripture revives him again. They would not likely deploy him on solo missions for a long time despite his experience.

Dying twice in the row in a month is the reason. Not only that, it was his fault that Vesture discovered their hideout, not Beaumarchais.

Even if he does not lose his benefits. After Vesture kills him, he would not be able to be deployed for a long time due to the loss of levels he has to recover.

It was already hard trying to recover from his first death. This time, it will probably take a whole year to regain his strength.

Yet, failure was just a part of this job. There was no use in dwelling on his failures.

It would be faster simply to wait for this death.

Yet, instead, he felt the splash of liquid on him.

Was it raining?

When Vesture used that martial art, half of the entire cave fell apart due to the destruction of its support system.

Therefore, the rooftop should be clear to the sky.

Cedran was expecting more raindrops to come. But that did not happen. Instead, his arms and limbs started to regain strength. A healing potion was used on him.

Did Beaumarchais manage to get up? That was not likely, his injuries were too severe. One of the Windflower members they had brought likely gave them a healing potion.

However, they should have left instantly when they have gotten the message both of them were defeated. So it confused him why he was regaining his strength.

Yet that answer was easily solved.

He opened his eyes.

Now the rooftop of the cave was gone, but he did not see Beaumarchais.

Only Vesture.

"Now, who's the stubborn one now?"

There was broken glass on his body. Vesture had thrown a healing potion at his body.

Yet the healing effects were only to the point of him able to stand up once more. Probably to make sure he doesn't attack him. Cedran still did not use his talent. Therefore, if he regained full use of his arms, he could instantly one shot Vesture.

But it seems Vesture that into consideration as well. Cedran was now only wearing his basic clothing. All of his equipment was gone. And when he looked towards Vesture, he was now equipped with his enchanted wild magic armor.

"Tck"

While most of it was destroyed. His rings still contained wild magic.

Vesture probably took the equipment when he was knocked out. Thus, even if Cedran used his talent, Vesture could probably survive it since he could simply activate Blood Bane to tank it.

 _"Ah, so it's this type of situation,"_

Vesture was likely going to torture him to get some answers.

"So when is it going to start?"

"Hm?"

"You know what I mean."

Cedran was trained to withstand any torture methods to the point which the people trying to get answers would likely give up before he dies.

One could say this was his 2nd talent. His mind is rock solid. Even in the face of intense pain, he will still be able to act and fight at full power.

Yet, knowing Vesture, he could have a mind-reading device that he hid somewhere for all these years.

"No, I didn't heal you up for that reason."

"Then what do you want?"

"Well, I don't see Beaumarchais anywhere, your friends probably took him away and retreated when they saw me defeat you."

Vesture then frowned.

"So, that's why I need you sent a message to them."

"You know, even if my arms and legs aren't healed, I could still try and beat you to the ground."

"Yes, but I trust you, Cedran. Plus, I already won the duel against the two of you."

"If you trust me, can you at least tell me what martial art you used?"

"Not yet, it's a secret."

"Then, I suppose none of your students could use that technique?"

"Well, I did teach that move to one of my students."

An annoyed face appeared on Cedran.

"Gazef….. with that move you created, you could probably take out an entire army."

"Yes, but I didn't develop that skill by myself,"

"Oh, so you took inspiration from other martial art masters then?"

Cedran stared at Vesture intensely. While they were talking casually, this was a normal thing to happen between warriors of all types, even those with no humanity. It was only natural, one would want to learn more to improve their skills, even if it cost anything, such as killing someone. Since the Black Scripture had no record of anyone using a similar technique Vesture used. He likely had to kill several martial art masters to learn this skill.

"No, it was my students."

"Your students? Impossible."

"In fact, they are the reason why I was able to create this technique in the first place."

Cedran looked into Vesture's eyes. He was not joking.

"That is quite a surprise. I never thought you would become a person like this."

"Everyone has a changing point. It was only about time I found mine."

"But with that technique, you could probably beat that man now, especially since he's quite old now."

"No. It is meaningless to fruit over revenge. Especially since that was over 30 years ago."

Cedran's face froze.

"For you to stop babbling over revenge. Teaching those students had truly changed you."

The last time Cedran saw Vesture was just before he left the Black Scripture. During the years they trained together, Vesture was always the type to be cold and serious as he was always constantly training himself to kill that man.

But, now, he looked to be quite carefree.

However, that opinion of Cedran quickly changed. Vesture eyes narrowed to towards him.

"I'll love to talk about the past with you more Cedran, but let's get down to business."

"Right."

Was Vesture still the type of man to drive into torture? Well, even if he was, Vesture should already know that torture would not work on him. Thus, he likely had a mind-reading device somewhere hidden in his {Item Box}.

His talent was very useful in hiding very important stuff. That was likely the case, Vesture's hand rose above his chest. And then he pointed at the ground.

"Help me gather all of the Adamantite and Orichalcum dust on the floor."

"What?"

Now that Cedran noticed, when Vesture activated his martial arts, all of his swords turned into dust after they were used. They also looked quite expensive too.

"Was this the reason you healed me?"

"Of course, I cannot collect all of the metal dust by myself. This is my life savings we are talking about."

Vesture summoned a bag.

"Here, use this to collect the metal dust before the wind blows them away. I know I blacksmith who might be able to reverse the effects of this."

Cedran signed.

"Fine, but aren't you a little worried about the rays lights coming from the capital city?"

Over to their sides, rays of lights arose from the capital city. Their height was toppled the height of the massive walls that surrounded the capital. No magic or technology of humanity could produce something like this. That was unless an outlier existed.

"Hey Cedran, don't tell me that's your doing."

"No,"

"Then everything might be fine. Gazef is the warrior captain, remember?"

"He is. But It troubles me if the players are in that city."

"Why would the players be in the capital right now?"

"Just a thought experiment."

"If you are trying to convince me to join the Black Scripture. It's not going to work."

"No, simply. Recently, one of our highest military investigation teams made a breakthrough on the identities of the newest players that arrived here."

"You are going to tell me that information?"

"This is just between the two of us. That player's name is Ainz Ooal Gown."

"I heard from Gazef he was saved by a powerful magic caster by that name. I figured that he must have been a player once my student told me the details of that event. The investigation team must have found out more than that correct?

"Yes, but instead, the kingdom of the Re-Estize Kingdom could be in trouble."

"Hmm, why is that? It seems the latest players that arrived here seems quite friendly."

"No,"

Cedran glared towards the floating lights in the city.

"To cast a spell like that, I believe at least 7th tier magic is required for it."

"What are you going towards?"

"I'm saying Ainz Ooal Gown may be behind those walls and attacking the city as we speak."

"And what makes you believe that?"

"Do you know the adventurer Momon?"

"Yes, he was the one who killed Clementine."

"Correct, but his pather, Nabe meanwhile fought skeleton dragons."

"I think I know where this conversion towards. But, in the public report, I heard they were weaker than average and could be easily defeated by the use of 5th tier magic."

"Yes, but that was incorrect. Simply the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy could not calculate what truly happened at the time. The skeleton dragons were actually at full strength."

Cedran signed. "And do you know about the vampire Momon fought?"

"I do, I simply heard Momon used a very powerful item to kill it."

"Was that from the public report again?"

"Hm…. right, of course, I don't believe everything that they say."

"That is wise, did you know that the Black Scripture encounter that same Vampire Momon killed? In fact, more than half of the seated members were there. And we still could not deal with the vampire."

"Even with the use of Blood Bane?"

"That vampire moved so fast that most of us could not activate that ability in time. I will not get in too much in-depth about what happened or what else the investigation team found. But based on the 11th seat calculations, it would be impossible for Momon to kill that vampire we encounter even with the use of Divine class gear since even the current captain of the scripture could not do such a feat."

Vesture's face grew cold. Cedran could tell that by looking at his skin.

"You mean that they are connected?"

"Simply, it is a fact that Momon is Ainz Ooal Gown."

* * *

 **Note:** Finally finished this chapter. It was pretty fun writing this part of the story. It is the first major fight scene in this story where Nabe or the enemy doesn't one-shot everyone. But it did take a while to finish it. I had to rewrite this chapter 3 times because I didn't like the first draft that I had for this chapter. The first draft was in 1st person view. I wanted to try out a new style of writing, but in the end, I decided I just stick with the 3rd person view. The 2nd draft was written in 3rd person view, but I didn't like how the fight and how the events played out. Thus, here's the final draft that I had.

Now for the fun facts and possible questions, you guys might have. Canonly, Vesture is not this powerful. The author stated that he is weaker than Remedios and Gazef. However, for this story, Vesture's base stats rivals Pe Riyuro, who is around level 38. Which is also the reason why Vesture beat Narberal is close combat a few chapters ago. Narberal health and defensive stats are much greater than Vesture, but her physical strength nor swordsmanship skill is not to that height.

And, in this story, every Black Scripture member has the ability to use Blood Bane to get a battle rating of 150. That is equal to the Pleiades' level. Now, I'll leave it up to your opinion if they could beat them or no. Oh, yea.. I'm also aware that even with Blood Bane they would be ants for Lord Ainz to deal with. Thus, you might think the Black Scripture's mission to capture Nabe would be meaningless.

And for that, I have to said just keep reading to find out if the story is going to head in that direction or not.

And how Vesture beat Cedran, I might not have explained it clearly, leave a review if that is so, but the only reason why Vesture was able to beat Cedran was because he just stood there while Vesture constantly used Eightfold Slash of Light. Plus, Vesture was using an op Marital Art Orlando Campano developed.

Yes, most of the martial arts Vesture used in this fight are actually canonly used in Overlord. Including the martial that involved breaking one's weapon to increase its power output several times. We never saw Orlando used his op marital art because he got rekt by Demurige in Vol 13 before he could use it, so that's why I kinda wanted to mention his name.

Yes, and Gazef. The light novel mentioned that Gazef and Vesture had mastered a technique that surpassed the [Sixfold Slash of Light]. Brain mentioned this fact in season 3(incoming spoilers for the anime), but Gazef got one-shotted by Lord Ainz before any of that was shown. So, I simply took inspiration for that idea, and for this story, doing consecutive [Eightfold Slash of Lights] is their trump card.

Also, in season one of Overlord, when Clementine was fighting Lord Ainz, she stated that his strength was only second to the captain of the Black Scripture and Zesshi. Well, for this story, Clementine was only referring to everyone in their base stats without using Blood Bane. I might just add in this fact in the text, so I don't have to put in in the note section.


	20. Chapter 16

The sun was rising upon a large city. It dwarfed the other countless towns in the country as this place was called the capital.

Now, as one would expect for such an important place, Many people would be outside. And regardless of what they were planning to do, the streets were to be filled with many activities that one would find themselves occupied with.

But today, that routine did not occur. Yes, there were many people outside, but instead of doing their usual morning duties, they were celebrating a victory.

Hence, if someone did not know what was happening, this would be entirely out of the norm. Well, they would think of that until they saw the nearby buildings.

Even in the wealthy part of the city, many houses and businesses were destroyed, out of functioning. Generally, if an event such as this occurred, soldiers would be tired, and nobles would be stressing over what to do in the future.

Primarily since that destruction was caused by the race of demons. They had just attacked the capital. Their leader, Jaldabaoth, had strength far beyond humanity, even able to kill Adamantite adventurers in a single hit.

Because of that event. It seemed there was no way humanity could defeat this new-found demon.

That was until an adventurer named Momon appeared. He defeated the monster and drive his army of demons off the land.

And now, even the injured were cheering to this victory.

Across a big road in Re-Estize, the hero, Momon, as we speak, was walking down the street. There, Narberal secretly smiled as people acknowledge her lord's power.

Currently, they were walking towards a large hill where they would be taken back to the city of E-Rantel.

And for this occasion, they walked passed the crowds of citizens and adventurers.

They were cheering for her and Momon's name.

Yes, the plan Lord Ainz created to make Demiurge act as a demon named Jaldabaoth was a big success. Although they already had much fame throughout the country for being Adamantite adventurers. This event would truly solidify their legacy to this country. News of how they saved the Re-Estize Kingdom will travel very fast, even to other nations.

The nearby villages near the capital probably already heard of it.

If only she would be there to see Vesture's reaction to how she and the great Lord Ainz defended an entire city from demons. Well, she might get the chance to tell Vesture the news if he hadn't heard of it yet.

And once he does hear about it, he'll regret not noticing her and Lord Ainz's influence on this country.

"Nabe, look straight."

"Yes, sir."

Still, Narberal had to keep her mind calm. She was simply a little overjoyed with the fact that everything went as planned. She even got a chance to meet up with sisters. With how busy they were lately, they hadn't seen each other for a long time.

Yet, after the Lord Ainz fought Demiurge, all of her sisters left. They acted as the main subjects to Demiurge during that attack, and as a result of that, they could not hang out for very long.

But it was a happy sight to see them again, despite being lectured by them.

Yes, during the reunion, Narberal was slightly lectured by them on how she should treat humans. It was quite surprising that they had no trouble interacting with the humans, unlike she did.

Thus, that served as another motivation for Narberal to improve her interaction with them. Of course, she would have done so with only the words of Lord Ainz. Having her sisters talk to her certainly did help with moral support.

But still, Narberal should be the one giving them advice since she was 2nd oldest. But regardless, that didn't bother her too much.

Instead, there was something else on her mind.

" _That bitch,"_

Narberal was referring to Evileye.

Everything did go smoothly in the battle of Jaldabaoth. However, Entoma was severely injured in that operation. The one who was responsible for her little sister's injuries was that little magic caster.

When they first found out about Entoma, even Lord Ainz was angered.

Yet, both of them kept their emotions in check, they still had to follow through with this plan. It was almost over.

Narberal only wished that a tiny girl whose name was Evileye would stop following them around.

She was at the back behind the with her group, Blue Rose. Several adventurers were following them from behind to say their farewells. Blue Roses was one of the adventurer groups, and the other ones were irrelevant, to say the least.

Only the strong adventurer groups in the country would be beneficial to Lord Ainz and her. It would be pointless to befriend the weak ones.

That was why they were going to leave Blue Rose alone for now.

The only reason Narberal could stand being next to Evileye was for the fact the bug admired Lord Ainz. Everyone time she checked up on her. She always seemed to be charmed by Lord Ainz's greatness.

He must have noticed it as well.

Lord Ainz was just acting that he doesn't notice Evileye's fangirling motives.

Probably...

When making their making way to the magic carpet, Narberal grabbed hold of Lord Ainz swords. While they were not heavy by any means to him, it did get in the way of formal greetings and goodbyes.

The magic carpet was ready to be boarded already by several men Momon hired.

All that was left to do was say farewell to Blue Rose and that noble.

But it seemed those adventurers were the first to respond.

"Momon," Evileye spoke, she started speaking in a soft and slow matter, "I know you have a lot of things to do… but do care to join us once in a while?"

Narberal wanted to sign. Watching Evileye was still quite annoying for her.

"Maybe another time. I have to thank you for helping me fight Jaldabaoth. It would have been a close match for Nabe and I if you were not there."

Evileye lower her head.

That was a false statement, but Narberal will admit that Evileye is strong for a human. Even if she didn't hard-counter her little sister, it would have been a difficult fight for Entoma to win.

However, Evileye wasn't that strong, She is more powerful than Vesture, but Narberal could properly kill both of them with a single power-up 8th tier magic spell.

Marquis then raised his hand. He was that noble that hired Lord Ainz to come here in the first place.

"Thank you for coming here, Momon. If it was not for your services, many more people would have fallen in this battle. The king would have personally rewarded you, but he is currently busy as we speak."

"No, do not worry about that. I understand the king is busy with other matters. I have to thank you for all you have done."

Lord Ainz then gazed his eyes at Blue Roses.

"Members of Blue Roses, as a fellow Adminate adventurer, I hope we will work together again."

Lakyus, the leader of Blue Roses, nodded.

"As do we."

"Then, farewell to you all."

Lord Ainz turned his back, and Narberal followed. They quickly boarded the floating board by themselves with no one else in sight and went off. They were heading towards the hotel Lord Ainz kept Hamsuke in.

As Narberal looked back at the adventurers, they were obviously charmed by Lord Ainz.

That was because of his perfect acting. Even if Narberal was at her best, she could not imitate what Lord Ainz just did.

Well, she could possibly. It was merely that Evileye was there that would make it hard for Narberal to speak in a carefree matter. Yes, it still pissed Narberal off that Evileye severely injured Entoma.

But, Narberal shouldn't worry about it. Her little sister and Lord Ainz already had a plan to deal with her.

Instead, she should focus on getting her old mission done. That was the one involving Aqua and Mr. Smith. After completing that mission, Narberal can do her regular task of helping Lord Ainz.

And that mission was undoubtedly going to be completed in a fast amount of time. It was a pretty simple mission if Narberal had to say it for herself. It was only that she needed to deliver the message the golden princess tasked her that it might take a bit longer.

The next letter was addressed to a city named Kuwait. It was right on the edge of a large body of water. What a coincidence. It was also at the place where she had to complete the deal with Mr. Smith to free the adventurers. That would make things faster.

Now, it interested Narberal, who was the next person she'll have to send the letter. It was addressed to a man named Kullervo.

"Momon, Do you know who Kullervo Palantynen is?"

"Hm, If I recall, he was a former Martial Lord."

"Martial lord?"

"Yes, is the title for the most powerful warrior in the Grand Arena of the Baharuth Empire. Is that where the next letter is to be sent?"

Narberal nodded.

"Hm, I do not know what the princess of this country is planning to do, but she sure does have some interesting ideas."

"I see, what are you planning to do next?

"Well, first, I have to go back to the hotel to pick up Hamsuke. It seems you too need to pick up someone else too, right?"

"Correct, I still have to deliver that child to the Slane Theocracy."

"Then it seems many things needed to be done. Perhaps, after this, it may be best to take a small break."

"Really?"

"This mission was truly a success. I'm sincerely proud of what Demiurge and all you guys had done."

Narberal face slightly turned bright. Comments from the greatest being on this planet are always a pleasure to hear.

"Right, shall I go complete my mission now?"

"That will do."

With that command, Narberal quickly said her farewells to Lord Ainz and teleported off the carpet.

Once at the school, she made her way inside, there were no students inside the school. Instead, at the front, there were simply several kids and adults. They were likely there for the protection services. The attack Demiurge had done was completed, but not the aftermath. Some people needed extra help in rebuilding, and having protection from harm was essential.

Now, their reasoning to be here was because of Demiurge. Their sacrifice would surely help build the empire Lord Ainz is trying to create. That included the persona of Momon. As the kids saw her, their eyes immediately shined bright.

"Look, Mom, it's that adventurer who saved the city."

One of the kids said that, and their parents had to calm their child down before he did anything else. It seems that the news of their achievements had reached here already. As immediately after that kid said that. The man working the front counter started to walk up to her. He immediately took his hand out for a handshake.

"I heard what you did, that was quite noble of you. Are you here to pick up Aqua?"

"Yes, that is correct."

He changed the topic of conversion quite fast, but that does not matter. For now, she had to get Aqua out of Vesture's school. Thus, through the first floor, she went up the stairs. Aqua's room was wide open. Narberal took a peek and saw her reading a book.

She must really like reading it, it was The Child Handbook.

The girl was very focused on reading it until Narberal made her way inside. Her point of attention changed. The child smiled upon seeing her.

"Miss Nabe, I just heard the news of what you just did."

"News travels fast around here."

"Right, At first I was a little worried about you since you didn't tell me where you went. But when everyone found out you saved the capital city, everyone here started praise you and your teammate."

"That's only to be expected."

Yes, the mission was indeed a success. Their names were probably going to be in this country's history books for what they had just done. If Momon and herself were not there, the entire capital might have been destroyed, and countless of lives may have been lost. Even the nearby villages would have likely perished under Jaldabaoth. But because of her and Lord Ainz's work, that did not happen. That was how the history books would likely tell this tale. It was indeed an exciting moment in history. An arc in time with the hero Momon, every event that involved him, something was surely going to be solved by him.

"Now, Did anything happen when I was gone.?"

Now that's Narberal thought about, did the villages here get affected too? Demiurge didn't target the towns outside the capital, but it still questioned her.

"Well…. Oh … I almost forgot… Sorry I was not able to complete the task you have given me."

"Hm, that is fine."

Narberal didn't need the child to do those tasks she had given her a few days ago anymore. It was merely because of the events of Jaldabaoth, they now had boatloads of money. Thus, they can now truly prepare the Tomb of Nazarick for the future.

"Anyway, since I am here now, we will be leaving soon. It would be wise to pack your things."

"I already did, but Vesture said he wanted to talk to you."

"Is it about the payment fees?"

"No, Vesture told me once you get here to meet him in his office."

The aura around the child darkened as soon as she said that. Something probably happened while she was gone. Was Vesture going to tell her that fact? Well, regardless of the reason. It was probably important.

She left the room.

Maybe he was going to apologize and say he was wrong to foolishly mock her and Lord Ainz. He probably already heard of the news of about happened.

If that is the case, Narberal would evidently shame him and say that it's too late because of what he had done. Of course, if Lord Ainz ordered her to get Vesture on their side, Narberal would quickly change that mindset, but that was not the case.

However, obviously, since Narberal was acting as Nabe right now. She could not do whatever she wanted. Hence, she decided she was going to talk nobly.

However, it seems that talking would have to wait. When she opened the door to Vesture's room, he was nowhere to be seen.

But there was a teenage boy inside the room. He was dressed in black fury clothing and had a sword by his side. He was likely a guard or a student. Since he was inside this room, he probably knew where Vesture was.

Narberal was about to ask the teenager where he was. But he started talking first.

"Hm, your back already."

"Yes."

The tone of his voice sounded as if they have met. Did this person mistake her as someone else? No, that was not possible. Did Narberal forget meeting this person? Again, that question was not reasonable either.

She never has seen this person before. The blue hair stood on his head, the youth look on his face. Narberal would have remembered if she met a person like this.

"Oh, I see," the teenage boy spoke, "Aqua didn't tell you about me yet?"

"Have we met before?"

"Yes, but that was only recently."

"How recent?"

"Hmm, just a few days ago, To put it short, I am Vesture."

Narberal almost coughed. This person right here was Vesture?

"You look a little short to be Vesture, how do I know you're him?"

"I used an illusionary item to change my appearance, but that magical item recently broke. Hence, I decided to meet you in this form."

"So you used an illusion spell you make yourself look taller?"

"That's not the point."

Narberal gave a small chuckle, briefly amused at something, before continuing on.

"I got it, I know."

Narberal was simply fooling with Vesture. The fact that he was of a different species was not so much of a surprise. Lord Ainz was doing it himself. Well, she was doing it right at this moment. So for Vesture to be hiding his actual appearance, there could be numerous reasons. Narberal could probably guess the correct one. However, driving to that reasoning was not necessary. She was leaving this place soon enough and had bigger things to worry about

"So, what did you want to tell me? Is it about the events that recently happened at the capital?"

"Right… congratulations on your victory…. but that was not the reason why I wanted to talk to you."

Narberal hopes went slightly downhill. Was that all Vesture had to say about her and Momon's victory? Well, he probably didn't know the full story of what happened. Yet that thinking quickly changed.

"Because of some development, I have to go somewhere far away, and it might be dangerous for me to go there alone."

"And you want me to help you get there?"

"Correct."

There was now a bag of gold coins in his hands.

"Of course, I already know you are very busy. But the recent actions that you did, somewhat changed my opinion of you, and I'll like to hire you."

"No,"

Narberal said that with a stern voice. She was not putting her emotions into this decision. It was merely that Narberal had her hands filled with Aqua and doing the princess's delivery mission. Helping Vesture do whatever he needs would simply be too much to handle with the time frame she has.

Well, that depended on where he was going.

"I knew you were going to say that. But, coincidentally, the place I am heading to is the same as you."

"You are going to Kuwait City?"

"Yes, Aqua told me that you are going to the same place, correct? Therefore, once we get there, that would be it."

"Hm,"

Now that was an agreeable term she could go by. But the reason for Vesture needed a guide to go there was weird. She hated to admit it, but Vesture was stronger than most of the New World creatures. For him to want to hire a guard, that was certainly strange.

"If you do not mind, could you tell me the reason why you want to hire me?"

"Gladly, in the past, I had some enemies. And recently they had started to move to my location again. I simply do not want my students or the school to get involved in my personal issues."

"So, you might need help in dealing with this problem?"

"Yes, since I would be traveling, I would be at my weakest point and could fall into traps. But if I make to that city, I would be fine."

Narberal nodded. She understood what Vesture was saying. Simply, If Vesture traveled alone, despite his strength, even he could fall victim to surprise attacks and such. He was merely taking in security measures. And although having him travel with her might endanger the child, Vesture probably considered that fact as well.

Yet, If the situation was bad enough, Narberal would resort to using her true power or call for backup. And the benefits of doing the mission to protect Vesture outweighed the cons. This was because, if she does protect him, and if the public sees that Vesture, a former Adamantite adventurer, trusts to her, that would provide even more closure to her reputation. It was a win-win situation.

But still, for Vesture to worry about the enemy he had. That must undoubtedly mean they were quite strong for the New World standard. This mission might be a difficult one. It would be wise to be alert at all times.

"Could you tell me the enemies we might be facing?"

"I will tell you on the way. For now, let's get going. Is everything ready to go?"

"Certainly."

"Then follow me to the horses."

Thus, both of them went outside. With Vesture worrying for his enemies, he prepared and told Narberal the enemies they've might be facing in the future. They ranged from old friends and rivals when he was an adventurer.

She didn't care for his personal past. Yet, as Vesture told Narberal the information, it sounded as if all of his enemies were connected in some way. Yes, It felt as if something was missing. As if Vesture was leaving a part of the puzzle untouched.

It was quite suspicious, Narberal should keep an eye for that.

With everything going well, she wouldn't want something terrible to happen.

But of course, that could sometimes never be avoided.

 **Part 2**

In the capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Brain was lousy walking across the castle's outer walls. After the battle of the demon leader named Jaldabaoth. Things have been going smoothly. For the capital to be in ruins, one would think everyone would be saddened by the latest events.

But that was not the case., Everyone was quite joyful from what Brain could see. Even when he walked into the poorest part of the capital, the commoners there had a high moral.

Now, Brain could have simply read the news or ask the other adventurers how things were going. He wanted to see for himself how things were turning out. It was also because he was planning to go drinking with Blue Roses and Climb later in the night. It was for the celebration of the victory they achieve. He might as well see if the bar was still functioning. It would be terrible if they came late at night to only find out that the bar was closed.

And it looked like other adventurers were worried about that too. Brain saw several other adventurers patrolling the streets. Well, they were not checking if the bar was still functioning.

Instead, they were securing the streets to make sure no looting or stealing would be done. It was also to make sure that all the demons in the city were dead. While most of them left when Jaldabaoth was defeated. Some of them stay behind. Thus, they were quickly dealt with. Brain hadn't even seen a single demon for hours now.

But you can never be too careful.

Across the street, he spotted Climb somewhat patrolling the area. Yet, he had a worried look on his face. Brain chuckled, was he that paranoid?

While it is good to be on the watch, it seemed that Climb been patrolling the streets for quite some time. He was overloading himself. It is essential to take some breaks.

And with that, Brain walked towards him.

"What's with that look? The princess's personal guard can't always be looking like that."

"Oh…. Brain."

His eyes quickly turned towards him.

"Ha, is something on your mind? You didn't even notice me coming over here."

"I apologize for that. It's just that something recently came up."

Climb's face turned sour. This was not the face someone would be making after a tremendous victory. Something bad must have come up.

"Want to share it?"

"What?"

"It's fine if you don't want to, but if there's something wrong, you could always ask for my help."

"Thanks for the support. But it's nothing like that. You remember the woman we and Sebes saved from the brothel when we first met the Eight fingers?"

"Yes."

"Well, during the demon attack, all of them were murdered in cold blood. Princess Renner told me that just a few hours ago."

No wonder why Climb was in a bad mood, he thinks their deaths were his fault. But that was simply a part of life. Nothing always goes your way.

"Climb, I understand your situation."

"No, it's not about that. You do remember the vampire we encountered last night?"

Brain attention quickly rose.

 _"Shalltear Bloodfallen,"_

Why did was Climb mentioning that name now?

"What about it?"

"Well, when Princess Renner told me about everything that happened in the attack. I just realized a very bizarre fact. I find it very hard to believe that Vampire, Sebes, Momon, and Jaldabaoth were all here in the same place at once."

"Well, why do you find that strange?"

Climb eyes suddenly changed.

"Because you know how it is. You told me before that their strength far surpassed humanity, and for all of them to be here at the same time. I find it very strange."

Brain's heart lurched forward. Now that he thinks about it, that was strange. When he saw Sebes fight, it is very reasonable than he was on par with Shalltear Bloodfallen. And while he did not witness the battle between Jaldabaoth and Momon.

" _That's right Momon fought and defeated Jaldabaoth."_

That demon lord was said to be able to one-shot Adamantite adventurers. For Momon to able to beat Jaldabaoth, was it possible that both of them had the same power level as Shalltear? If that was true, then there would be 5 beings with the power level rivaling gods in this city at the same time.

Possibility six if Nabe had a similar power level to Momon. Therefore, for six beings having a power rivaling dragons, creatures who have not been seen for hundreds of years now. The chances for them being here was likely not a coincidence.

Brain felt his heart pouch slightly more. Why didn't he realize this fact sooner?

"Hey.. you don't think that vampire is actually an ally with Jaldabaoth?"

"I think that might be a possibility. And Sebes."

"If your thinking Sebes is an ally to Jaldabaoth, that is flat out impossible."

"I know, but recently, during the demon attack, in a nearby village here, Locals reported that something strange happened in a cave. That a large scale fight took place there."

"A fight?"

"Yes, the locals said that half of the entire cave was destroyed, and most of the trees surrounding the cave are in pieces. Now, this is just a theory, but what if Sebes was actually an enemy of that vampire, and they were the ones who fought in that cave."

Brain's eyes widen.

"Climb… did you deduct all of this information by yourself?"

"No, I wouldn't have connected all these pieces together if I didn't hear about a large fight taking place in a cave nearby. Plus, I had some help from Princess Renner."

"Wait, you told her about that vampire?"

"No, Princess Renner only shared me information regarding Jaldabaoth, Momon, and the recent fight that happened in a local cave."

"I see. So, from what I heard about Momon, he killed a similar vampire to that vampire, and if Sebes was an enemy of her as well, then it is likely that Momon and Sebes might be connected, right?"

"Well, this was simply what I deducted from the report Princess Renner had in her desk."

"But you made this connection. You should give yourself some credit if this is really true."

"It might be, While it is strange for Sebes, Momon, Jaldabaoth, and that vampire all to be here in the same place, it could all just be a coincidence."

"No, I think you're onto something, Climb."

"You know so? Well, even if I was, I don't think Princess Renner or I would have the time or money to investigate a case like this."

"Then, I will do it."

"Wait…. Its flattery that you think my strange theory is correct, but you don't have to do this. What about..."

"No, I have to."

"Is this vampire that type of person to you?"

Brain nudged. While it was true, she did have a great impact on him. That was not the reason he was going to find more information about her. Instead, it was for something else.

"No, I simply trust your intuition, Climb. And if you are correct, that would make for some interesting developments in the future. Now I suppose I should first try to get a handle on Momon and Nabe for information. Are they still in the city?"

"No, they left several hours ago, and I don't know where they are going. But I heard that Momon and Nabe are currently doing separate missions."

"Do you do where either of them is going then?"

"I don't know about Momon, but I heard that Princess Renner task Nabe with going to Kuwait City. If you want to meet with her, then that would be the place."

"That place? I should be heading to that place soon enough before she leaves there."

Brian then went forward, but before he could leave, Climb yelled to him.

"Wait, while it is true, Momon and Nabe are on our side. I feel like something very bad is going to happen soon. It might be dangerous for you to go there alone."

Brain smirked.

"Don't worry, Climb, I fought the goddess of death twice in a single month, and I am still here, aren't I?"

He nodded. Brain was only trying to lighten up the mood. Yes, while he did manage to survive an encounter with Shalltear Bloodfallen twice. She was only playing with him. If she wanted to, she could possibly kill him with only a single finger.

Yet, the reason why he continued to have a strong face was that there were other people like her. But instead, they were on the side of humanity.

"Tell Princess Renner, Gazef, and Blue Rose I might be gone for a few weeks. Tell them I had to go do some unfinished business."

Thus, he ran off to prepare for his journey. It was possible he might end up never coming back alive after this. Yet he still continued. He did not fear death any longer after meeting Shalltear.

They say warriors who do not fear the end of life are the wisest. Of course, that was not always true. As for Brain, he was not the brightest, yet he was certainly doing this for the greater good.

And for others, they may certainly not fear death, but their reason was usually because of a motive that is evil. Therefore, a selfish reason.

 **Part 3**

In Quirky Valley, Jet was resting inside his bed. He was in one of the rooms in the merchant guild. In other words, it was his bedroom.

And god must have been on his side. To make it back here after fighting those two men, Jet must have some divine luck on his side. After he escaped, he simply came here and fell to his bed. A day has passed. And now here he was.

Jet placed his eyes patch back on. There was some noise on the first floor. Nemel must have opened up the shop.

Yes, when Jet made it back to the inn, Nemel was nowhere to be seen, but somewhere later in the night, Jet heard and noticed that she came back here safely. Vesture must have somehow won that fight.

While one would usually thank their savior. Jet did not.

" _Tck,"_

If Vesture was able to beat those two men when Jet didn't even last a minute in a fight with them. Then, having a duel with Vesture would be meaningless even with his superior equipment.

In other words, there was no way he had a chance of beating him in a normal one on one fight. Jet knew Vesture for years, but not in a lifetime did he analyze his strength to be superior to martial lords or legendary-like figures. He was never that strong before.

Jet had seen him fight before, and he was able to be beaten.

Now, why did he have to become stronger? Jet already reached his peak. He had no talent, and 3rd tier magic was highest he could get to.

Yet, it would still be possible to beat him beforehand. Now that was impossible.

No, there was still a way to kill him.

Just before Jet could move from his location, Nemel opened the door. She had a slightly cheerful look on herself. While it was a happy sight to see that Nemel got out of that mess unhurt, even for Jet, he couldn't merely dwell on the past events.

But it seems he couldn't simply ignore it. Almost immediately after standing, he almost stumbled on his foot. He was more injured from the fight than he thought.

"Jet, be careful, you still haven't fully recovered. I can cast healing magic on you."

"No, I can do it myself, my mana supply is mostly recovered."

Using the table by the bed, he pushed himself upwards and cast a 3rd tier healing spell on himself. When he fought those men, he didn't use too much of his mana. Simply, he was severely injured in the fight that he was a bit tired.

And it looked like Nemel didn't have to face the same hardship as he did. She seemed rather fine for being kidnapped.

"It seems you came out of that fight unharmed, do you remember anything while you were there?"

"Well, I was unconscious for most of the time."

"Ah,"

Then it was meaningless to ask Nemel for any more information. Those men were professionals. They likely erased Nemel's memory of the events that happened.

Yet she spoke once more.

"But there were moments I was conscious, that was when they questioned me for answers."

That made a spark in Jet's eyes. If Nemel's remembers everything that happened, they could figure out the reason why those men captured her in the first place and why Vesure came to save them.

That man lived pretty far from their location. For him to come and save Nemel out of the blue must have not been a coincidence.

"I don't remember everything that they asked me, but most of the questions were relating to Vesture."

"Vesture? You remember anything else?"

"Well, after they questioned me, I fell unconscious again. And when I woke up again, I was already here."

"Hm, if that's the case, Vesture probably brought you back here, right?"

"Probably."

That was quite a large amount of information to come across. If what Nemel is saying is true, then those men might have been actually after Vesture. And the fact that they knew Jet's real name.

"Ah, I see."

That was the reason they captured Nemel. Since they knew his true name, they might have known about his connection towards Vesture. Thus, they capture Nemel to lure in Vesture. But for what reason?

Vesture had many secrets Jet did not even know of. Did it have to do with something like that? Well, even if those mysterious men were Vesture's enemies. Jet didn't even know if this information would benefit him at all.

That was unless he knew who the enemy's identities were.

"Did they mention any names besides Vesture?"

"I'm trying to think…. When Vesture came to save you and me, I heard them say the name Mr. Smith, and that he was a part of their operation, that's all I can remember."

There was a smile on his face. Part of the puzzle was being solved went before his eyes.

"Mr. Smith, I know him. He was my employer for a previous mission I had."

"What about it?"

"Well, he was a fraud, an enemy of the nation, I don't know why, but he started to capture a ton of adventurers he hired. But obviously with my intelligence and…"

"Oh, that's right. The adventurer Nabe was the one who solved that conflict, right?"

"You didn't have to spoil my moment."

A small chuckle was shared between them.

"Anyway, at the end that conflict. Mr. Smith made a deal with that adventurer, Nabe, to free all the adventurers that were captured, and I heard they were to meet in Kuwait City to make that deal."

"So, you are planning to meet Mr. Smith there? But why?"

"Because I am going to join him."

"And?"

"I was waiting for you to say that."

"I knew you weren't doing this stupid plan with no other gain of benefit."

"Well, it's because I reach my limit, I can't get any stronger, there is no way I can beat Vesture."

He then lowered his head.

"But if I join Mr. Smith. Since he is an enemy of Vesture, I might be able to find a way to beat him at last."

"But at what cost?"

"What?"

"You said that Mr. Smith is now a criminal in this country. If you join him, you'll turn into a criminal once more. And what about your adventurer team?"

"They were captured by Mr. Smith. You see, even if I don't find out anything about Vesture, or even if I do, When I join Mr. Smith, I'll simply betray him later and tell the authorities I only join Mr. Smith to free my teammates. "

"But that is a dangerous decision. All of this just to get back at Vesture?"

"You know It has to be done."

Nemel had a sour look on her face. She knew there was nothing that could change Jet's mind about him. Nothing that could be done. If Vesture was still breathing and eating, then Jet could never be at rest. Although he is a very different man today and seems harmless. That is only on the outside.

In the past, Vesture was a cold-blooded murderer. A person who is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way.

* * *

 **Note:** I have chapter 17 up and going. Yet, it is only at its draft stages. It still needs a lot of work before I can put it out, and once that is out, I not going to able to release more chapters for awhile. I'm going to be busy for the next few weeks, but I am planning to put out the next few chapters hopefully by the end of March. But when I look at what I have a plan for the story, that is most likely not going to happen. There's a lot of stuff to be written.


End file.
